The Madras High Court has cautioned Tamil Nadu may have to "beg" for water from other states and countries if the natural resource and its storage places are not properly preserved.
A bench of justices M Venugopal and S Vaidyanathan made the observation as it faulted the state government for earmarking part of backwater land here for an RTO office and a university and struck down the orders issued in 2013 and 2014.
Referring to national poet Subramanya Bharathi's suggestion even before the Independence that excess water from the Bengal region may be used to irrigate other areas of the country, it said actually such a need would not arise if the water was properly stored in wetlands instead of letting it to run to the ocean.
It quashed the Government Orders issued by the Revenue department transferring the backwater land for construction of a Regional Transport Office building and for setting up Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University.
The bench allowed a PIL from Nature Trust, involved in protecting the environment and natural resources, represented by its founder and managing trustee I H Sekar.
"...if water and its storage places are not properly preserved/maintained, the day is not far off for us to beg water from other states/countries," the bench said in its order.
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Quashing the GOs, the court said the main objective for introduction of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 was that the wetlands shall be conserved and managed in accordance with the principle of 'wise use' as determined by Wetlands Authority.
However, the court said the decision of the government in transferring such lands would certainly defeat the purpose, for which the new rule was introduced.
Rejecting the government's contention that only a small portion of the wetland was transferred, the court said, "The starting point for encroachment is an allotment of the small portion of environmental areas for some other purpose and later on, it will be widespread throughout, thereby polluting the rest of the areas."
Though a six feet space was sufficient for burial of a dead body, several burials will become a graveyard, it added.
The bench said it was needless to state that in case of any encroachment on the wetlands, authorities shall, by displaying this order, immediately act upon and ensure they were removed without showing any indulgence and sympathy.
The court fixed the responsibility on the state chief secretary and wetland authority and their team for survey and removal of encroachments on the wetlands and said any negligence or lethargic attitude shall be viewed seriously.
Further, the bench said any non-compliance of its order would be construed as contempt and the violators would be punished with imprisonment.
Officials, if found guilty of not removing such encroachments, may be suspended and dismissed from service for their misconduct, dereliction of duty and lack of integrity so as to deprive their entire gratuity and terminal benefits.
According to petitioner, the 61.60 acres of land in Sholinganallur, lying adjacent to Buckingham Canal which drains excess water into sea, had been classified as 'backwater (kazhuveli) land' in the Revenue records.
These lands help avoid and mitigate the effects of floods during excess rains and high tides such as tsunami and to store the excess water entering into the Buckingham Canal, thereby preventing wastage of water into the sea.
The lands also facilitate the recharging of wells and ponds, among others, in the nearby Villages and provides aquifer effect.
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