TNN
Jun 7, 2012, 05.04AM IST
Chennai:
A 50-year-old pond in Jamin Pallavaram got a new lease of life on
Wednesday after a team of revenue officials led by Tambaram revenue
divisional officer S Etiappan demolished encroachments on the banks
of the water body. The officials demolished an illegal concrete
foundation built on a portion of the pond.
Wednesday's
action is the preliminary step to restore the pond spread across 1.44
acres. Based on complaints from residents, revenue officials oversaw
demolition of a concrete foundation at 11am.
Before
constructing the foundation, some residents had dumped garbage to
encroach upon the water source. "Though residents do not fetch
water from the pond now, the water body helps recharge the water
table in the locality. With the increase in land value, water bodies
have become easy targets of encroachers," said K Shanmugam, a
resident.
Revenue
officials have also started identification of other encroachments,
mostly houses, around the water body. With the help of police and
local body, the revenue officials would demolish the illegal
structures soon. "Most of these encroachments are nearly 50
years old. There are about 60 such buildings. Any demolition of these
structures will create a law and order problem. Based on a detailed
survey, we will rope in stakeholders including resident welfare
associations, police and the local body to remove the encroachments,"
said a revenue official.
Officials
of the Pallavaram municipality said many water bodies within its
limits are being renovated by deepening and de-silting them. A
proposal including cost to renovate the pond in Jamin Pallavaram will
be tabled at the council meeting of the municipality this month.
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