Expedite underground drainage scheme, NGT tells Chennai, Tambaram corporations

NGT asks the Greater Chennai Corporation and the Tambaram Corporation to complete the underground drainage scheme on a war-footing and avoid discharge of untreated sewage into the Putheir lake

The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has directed the Tambaram Municipal Corporation and the Greater Chennai Corporation to take steps to implement the underground drainage scheme in the uncovered areas on a war footing to avoid discharge of untreated sewage into the Putheri Lake.

The Bench directed the Tambaram Municipal Corporation to implement the Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management Rules in an effective manner.

The Chengalpattu district collector, in coordination with the Water Resources Department and the Tambaram Municipal Corporation, has been asked to conduct a survey and fix the boundary of the Putheri Lake. If any encroachment was found in the lake, the authorities should remove them and protect the waterbody.

Apart from installation of CCTVs around the lake to identify persons dumping waste into the lake, the Bench directed the Tambaram Corporation Commissioner to register private tanker lorries that collect untreated sewage from residential complexes and residences in the area and take steps to install GPS in these lorries.

The Corporation should maintain a register to track the movement of such lorries to ascertain whether they were involved in illegal decanting of sewage into the waterbodies instead of taking them to the sewage treatment plants, the NGT ordered.