Steps taken to remove encroachments from Adyar river banks, HC told

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday informed the Madras High Court that it has been taking steps to remove all the encroachments that are existing on the banks of the Adyar River in Chennai.

State Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran made this submission before the second bench of Madras HC comprising Justice M Duraiswamy and Justice Sunder Mohan. The bench was hearing a petition filed by S Krishna Kumar, president of Citizens Forum.

The petitioner sought direction to the state government to take action on his representation dated June 20, to remove the encroachments from the banks of the Adyar River.

According to the petitioner, the encroachments are causing a threat to the flood prone Chennai.

“Considering the safety and health hazards of the entire residents of the low-lying area in Chennai city which gets flooded almost every year and also affects the safety and health of even these encroachers, besides to maintain the ecology and environment of the Adyar River, ” the petitioner said in his affidavit.

However, the AAG informed the bench that the government has initiated several projects including the Cooum River restoration project to remove the encroachments from water bodies.

“The State has been actively removing the encroachments in all the areas except the places where the stay is in operation, ” the AAG noted.

Recording the submissions, the bench directed the registry to list the case along with other petitions in connection with the removal of encroachments from water bodies.