Madras High Court refuses to order draining of water from lake in Namakkal to protect illegally-constructed houses

The Madras High court has refused to order the opening of the sluices of a 126-acre lake in Namakkal district, to protect residential houses that have been constructed illegally on plots of land prone to submerging when the water level in the lake remains high. “It is only the man made mischief which has to be undone and not the natural stagnation of water which has to be prevented,” wrote Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy while dismissing the case filed by the Chandrasekarapuram panchayat president who had sought a direction to open the sluices of the sprawling lake situated in the adjacent Anaipalayam village at Rasipuram Taluk in Nammakal district. The conditions stated that the pattadars should not put up check dams or dig channels affecting the water level of Anaipalayam lake; they should not impose any new conditions affecting the rights of Anaipalayam ayacutdars; they should not interfere with the easement rights of the public over the tank and they should not prevent in any form, the stagnation of water in the lake. Authoring the verdict, Justice Chakravarthy wrote that storage of water in a lake comes handy not only for future use but also helps in recharging the ground water level besides serving as a medium to sustain biodiversity.