Madurai
Claiming that the Vaigai dam may have a silt deposit of up to 20 feet, reducing the original storage capacity by at least 15 %, an advocate moved the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday seeking a direction to the authorities to desilt the sand deposited in the Vaigai dam.
Advocate B. Stalin of Melur said that reservoir sedimentation was a severe problem faced due to soil erosion in the catchment areas of the reservoir. Virtually no work has taken off to desilt the Vaigai dam since its inception, he said.
In 2016, there was a total estimation of around ₹ 180 crore to desilt the Vaigai dam and the same was revised to ₹ 220 crore in 2019. However, the study and ideas to desilt the Vaigai dam were still pending, the petitioner said.
Apart from desilting the Vaigai dam, the petitioner also sought a direction to the authorities concerned to fix a boundary to the water storage area, remove encroachments in the water storage area and prevent water theft in Moola Vaigai and Vaigai river.
A Division Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and S. Ananthi ordered notice to the State and sought response from the authorities.
Published - March 30, 2021 09:40 pm IST
