Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruvannamalai District Court, P. Mathusuthanan, inspecting ponds in Tiruvannamalai town. Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian is also seen. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Three ponds in Tiruvannamalai town will soon be restored as the Special Committee, appointed by the Madras High Court, inspected the waterbodies.
The Committee, headed by P. Mathusuthanan, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruvannamalai District Court, was formed after petitions filed by Srinivasa Temple Waterbodies Restoration Trust, a local non-profit organisation, sought rejuvenation of these ponds by the district administration to help increase groundwater levels in the town.
Along with the members of the trust and a team of revenue officials led by Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian and M. Priyadharshini, District Revenue Officer (DRO) Mr. Mathusuthanan visited the sites to take stock of the present condition of the waterbodies, including total area coverage and water level.
He also checked the extent of the demolition drive done by the authorities. “Encroachments, mostly houses, occupy most of the space of these ponds. Demolition of the encroachments remains a key challenge in the restoration of the waterbodies as it involves alternative arrangements for displaced families,” said S. Thyagarajan, Tasildar (Tiruvannamalai taluk).
Revenue officials said that the total area coverage of these three ponds— Vediappan pond, Pillai pond, and Paruvatharajakulam— maintained by Tiruvannamalai municipality are 3.01 acres, 1.02 acres and 4.14 acres, respectively. Over the years, they were encroached upon by illegal construction of houses.
At present, three ponds occupy only a small portion of the total area. Many illegal constructions on the occupied area of these ponds have household electricity connections, street lights, and water taps.
In mid-2019, the then Collector K. S. Kandasamy initiated steps to rejuvenate small waterbodies, especially ponds and lakes, under the Kudimaramathu scheme to increase groundwater level in the district. The ponds were among the 40 waterbodies, including irrigation tanks, that were planned under the scheme.
Subsequently, the Srinivasa Temple Waterbodies Restoration Trust was entrusted to restore the three ponds. However, encroachments on the ponds have put the rejuvenation work on hold.
103 illegal houses
Later, a group of residents and the trust moved the Madras High Court for an immediate restoration of ponds, including demolition of encroachments. Currently, revenue officials have identified 103 illegal houses in Vediappan and Pillai ponds alone. “Ponds like Chakkaram Kulam and Ayyan Kulam in the town have been restored successfully by the district administration with the help of residents,” said M. Paramasivam, treasurer of the trust.
Each pond, on an average, is around 20-25 feet deep. They also have concrete water channels and soak pits to discharge excess rainwater in the town to these waterbodies during the monsoon. Once restored, each of these ponds will help recharge groundwater in at least 15-20 streets in the town. Currently, the town has around 60 ponds as against 365 ponds during the early 1920s, officials said.
