Plea to probe misuse of stormwater drain funds dismissed

A Division Bench of Justice T Raja and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, while dismissing the plea by AP Suryaprakasam, a Royapettah-based resident in Chennai, held the petitioner had failed to specify at which part the funds are being misused.

“If the petitioner has moved this litigation in the public interest, he should have submitted proper details about the allegation. He also could have given a representation to the government about the misappropriation of funds explaining where and how it is happening,” the bench observed.

The petitioner alleged that the dengue has been spread in the state and officials are not acting towards the removal of solid waste materials dumped on the roads and public places.

He further submitted that prior to this year’s rain, the officials, former chief minister, and ministers have claimed that they have constructed a stormwater drain for a 980-km stretch in Chennai city and several thousand crores have been spent on that. 

“However, all their claim was proved hollow, as more than 500 streets of Chennai were flooded during this rainfall season,” Suryaparakasam added.

He further contended that the large-scale corruption in the execution of the smart city project and desilting of stormwater drains and its poor construction was the main reason for the inundation which has resulted in stagnation of rainwater for more than 25 days which has become an ideal breeding ground for the dengue-spreading mosquitoes.

On recording the submission, the bench said the petition could not be entertained as the petitioner failed to note when and where the stagnation occurred.