CAG faults CMDA over 2015 Chennai floods

The December 2015 floods here was a result of failure of CMDA, the city development authority, to check large-scale construction along waterways and illegal conversion of agricultural land and water bodies, CAG said.

"Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority failed to check large-scale constructions along waterways, which choked waterways and altered land uses in metropolitan area,it said.

Allowing conversion of agricultural land without government approval and unauthorised conversion of water bodies, non-urban and Open Space and Recreation land for various other purposes resulted in drastic changes in land use and thereby contributed to the floods," the CAG said