division bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and B Pugalendhi was hearing a petition filed by one S Arumai Dass in 2016 seeking direction to remove the encroachments in a stream (which runs from north to south in the east side of Jacobpuram Village) in Pazhavoor Revenue Village-II of Radhapuram taluk in Tirunelveli. The court said the direction has been issued to prevent the recurrence of such cases, and added that in many cases, government buildings were being put up on waterbodies.
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court directed the secretary of the rural development and panchayat raj department, and secretary of municipal administration and water supply department to issue a detailed circular instructing officials concerned that in future, while selecting sites for putting up any building, it should be ensured that waterbodies are not chosen for putting up such a construction.
A division bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and B Pugalendhi was hearing a petition filed by one S Arumai Dass in 2016 seeking direction to remove the encroachments in a stream (which runs from north to south in the east side of Jacobpuram Village) in Pazhavoor Revenue Village-II of Radhapuram taluk in Tirunelveli. The court said the direction has been issued to prevent the recurrence of such cases, and added that in many cases, government buildings were being put up on waterbodies.
According to the petitioner, a stream runs in a survey number in Pazhavoor revenue village, which starts from the Western Ghats in the western side of Aavaraikulam village. There were several encroachments on the said waterbody, and the reason for the filing of the petition was the construction of a service centre under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The officials conceded that the construction of the community centre in the stream began during 2015-16 and that further construction was stopped following the petition.
When the matter was taken up in June 2016, the court had passed an order directing the Tirunelveli district collector to file a detailed report as to the action taken on the complaint lodged by the petitioner and the measures, if any, to be taken for restoring the waterbody. In the counter affidavit filed by the block development officer, it was further admitted that a sum of Rs 14.55 lakh was already spent from public funds for the construction.
Ahead of choosing the site, the court observed, no formal approval was obtained from any competent committee. Construction in any waterbody cannot be permitted, and has to be necessarily demolished, said the court, adding that it cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that on account of the reckless conduct of some officials concerned, a sum of Rs 14.55 lakh of public funds had gone waste. Hence, the court had directed the collector to fix responsibility in this regard.
When the matter was taken up for hearing again, the government advocate submitted that the collector took up the issue and identified as many as four officials responsible. The court directed the collector to pursue the matter further and ensure that the amount of Rs 14.55 lakh of public funds is recovered from the erring staff. The collector was also directed to ensure that the offending construction was demolished, the debris removed forthwith, and the waterbody is restored to its original condition, the court said.
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