PIL filed to protect Sholinganallur waterbodies
The Sholinganallur Phase I and Phase II TNHB Affected Residents Welfare Association has filed a public interest litigation in the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the respondents, who included the Tamil Nadu Housing Board to protect the waterbodies in various survey numbers at Sholinganallur. The association, represented by its secretary, K.Appadurai, submitted that the TNHB while promoting a satellite township at Sholinganallur had encroached upon several waterbodies by land filling and developing housing plots on them also. This resulted in deprivation of water sources due to disappearance of waterbodies in the locality. Such unplanned development of plots would lead to reduced ground water table and salination of the existing good quality of ground water. Unless the existing water bodies were protected, the locality would face an environmental disaster. The petitioner sought an ad-interim injunction restraining the board from acquiring the waterbodies in survey numbers 290, 292, 393 and 315. In its order, the First Bench comprising the Chief Justice A. P. Shah and Justice F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla directed the TNHB to maintain status quo in respect of the four survey numbers. The matter was adjourned to March 10.