Desilting: Spl land surveying panel formed to clear encroachments

Tiruchy: A dedicated land surveying committee has been formed to identify encroachments along water bodies and retrieve the lands immediately before desilting works to ensure free flow of water till the tail end in Cauvery Delta, said Additional Chief Secretary Sandeep Saxena here on Tuesday.

Convening a meeting with district collectors of the Central region for discussing the ongoing desilting programme, the Additional Chief Secretary said, the officials from various departments have been roped in for the successful completion of the programme planned at a cost of Rs 80 crore which has been scheduled to be completed by May end. Saxena said that a major challenge was encroachments. “We have constituted a dedicated land surveying committee which would identify the encroachments along the water bodies across the region. Once they identify them, the retrieval process would commence,” the Additional Chief Secretary said.

Farmers Committee has been formed in every revenue district to monitor the desilting process.