NGT Halts Work on Reclaimed MRC Land, Flags Velachery Lake Shrinkage

The NGT has recently put a stop to work on the site of a 118-acre reclaimed chunk, which is the very proper definition of the old Madras Race Club, needing a report to be submitted by the chief secretary of the departments of the State Government of Tamil Nadu immediately. Therefore, the Green bench, led by Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and experts like Shri Satyagopal Korlapati, showed their strong disapproval for having any further construction on the site until final orders are made.

This land is under the purview of the revenue and horticulture departments, the same authority that blueprints a perfect ecological park, the submission to the NGT question being whether to let the GCC formally take over the land, on which four rainwater harvesting ponds have already been put up.

The combined petitions include one case regarding selfies from earlier media reports depicting Velachery Lake’s pollution and other environmental problems, with the State taking over its land at the moment. Furthermore, the lake has now been truncated to one-fifth of its actual area, which was 255 acres once. Such an area, more than 77 ha thereof, has been acquired by the State Departments, in which the Housing Board, Slum Clearance Board, and Highways Department are unanimous.

The bench also argued that in the eventuality that this land continues to exist and its immunity is not restored, wouldn’t it be best to treat it as the R-W-B and allow the groundwater recharge? For Chennai, this would be practical with reference to its already existing drought and flood mitigation.

The National Green Tribunal has, therefore, ordered and informed the State Government through submission of necessary facts as regards the original and present size of the lake, its potential water storage capacity, and its ecological role with the thus added Rs 23.5 crore renovation program. The assessment was said to be necessary to give an idea of the ecological damage and the sustainability that could be achieved in the future.

The date for the final hearing is set for August 21, and till then, the Tribunal is very much against any further constructions or any kind of marking or territory decisions.