Madras HC Cautions Against Encroachments on Water Bodies

Responding to a request to check the encroachments on water bodies in the State, the High Court of Madras ordered on Tuesday that GPS/satellite images of water bodies across districts in Tamil Nadu, as they existed on 15 March 2021, be uploaded online by District Collectors by 17 March.

A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy passed the order while hearing a PIL alleging an intrusion of water bodies through a INR 112 Crore beautification project in Erode.

The case prompted the Court to take the view that satellite images of all water bodies must be uploaded online so that the number of water bodies existing at a particular point in time can be verified.

Chief Justice Banerjee said, "We want you to get GPS maps as of today to indicate where your water bodies are. So, when you say there were no water bodies from Mahabharat times, we can pin you down,".