HC direction to Kancheepuram Collector on PIL

The Madras High Court today directed the Kancheepuram District Collector to call for reports from revenue officials on alleged construction of a Service Centre for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on the tank bund of a temple tank there.
A Division Bench, comprising Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice R. Mala, before which the petition filed by one Anantharama Krishnan of Kancheepuram, came up, directed the Collector to call for the records from the revenue officials and examine the matter.
"... If it is found that the proposed construction is in a water body, then appropriate direction should be issued, so that the construction is not done in a water body and if otherwise, the officials shall be entitled to proceed in accordance with law."

The bench directed the Collector to complete the exercise within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of the order.
The petitioner sought a direction from the Court to forbear the authorities from putting up any construction particularly Service Centre for MGNREG Scheme in the tank bund of the Agatheeswarar Temple Tank of Kodur Village, Cheyyur Taluk. He also sought a direction to remove the encroachments comprised in Survey No;259/6, related to the tank bund which is shown as 'Kuttai' (tank) as per the revenue records.
The bench, disposing of the PIL, cited a judgment of the court which directed the state government to protect all water bodies, pursuant to which the government enacted a law, namely Tamil Nadu protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachments Act, 2007, and directed the Collector to consider the representation of the petitioner.