The Madras High Court has ordered notice to authorities, including the Public Works Department, to file reply in two weeks on a public interest litigation seeking to restrain them from proceeding with sand mining in Kosasthalai river near Gerugampoondi in Tiruvallur district.

The First Bench of Madras High Court, comprising Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, also called for records from the authorities concerned after hearing a submission on a PIL filed by K. Venkatesan, president of the Vilapakkam panchayat.

Water scarcity may be a thing of the past in nearly 20 villages around Nallatur in Tiruvallur district. As part of its efforts to recharge depleting groundwater resources, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has proposed to construct another check-dam in Nallatur across the Kosasthalaiyar River.

The check-dam, which would store water that drains into the sea, would also help irrigation in the surrounding areas. The proposed facility would supply water to an additional 225 hectares of lands.

KRISHNAGIRI: Farmers attached to the Tamizhaga Vivsaiygal Sangam (TVS) on Wednesday urged the state government to prevent Karnataka from diverting water from the Thenpenniyar river alleging that the move would cause severe water shortage in five districts of TN.

In an emergency meeting on Wednesday in Savalur village, TVS state secretary K M Ramagounder said a new plan chalked out by the Karnataka government to divert water from the Varathur lake — situated across the Thenpenniyar river — to 200 lakes in the Kolar Gold Fields area would severely affect irrigation in five districts.

CHENNAI: PWD Minister K V Ramalingam on Thursday said that as per the existing agreement, Karnataka could not construct a new dam across Thenpennai river without the consent of the Tamil Nadu Government.

Replying to an issue raised by the Congress, CPI and CPM in this regard in the State Assembly, the Minister said the Tamil Nadu Government had written to the Karnataka Government seeking an explanation for the reports about the new dam.

Tiruvallur district will soon get its fifth reservoir to meet the growing drinking needs of Chennai. The Water Resources Department has initiated the process by inviting bids from firms for consultancy service to conduct environment studies for the project.

The consultants are required to get clearance from Environment Impact Assessment Authority of Central government for the proposed reservoir with a capacity to hold up to one thousand million cubic feet of water, by filling it twice.

CHENNAI: Governor K Rosaiah on Monday launched a scheme to supply purified water to 10 villages in Tiruvallur district. The scheme is an initiative of the Sree Balaji Seva Trust.

The Madras High Court has set aside a notification of July last year seeking to acquire lands measuring 2 acres and 47 cents belonging to the Sri Venkateswara Educational and Charitable Trust here at Mathur village in Tiruvannamalai district.

Allowing a petition by the trust, Justice Vinod K.Sharma imposed costs of Rs.20,000 payable to the trust.

Farmers optimism on the state government giving a new lease to the Palar river has come a cropper with media reports suggesting that the Karnataka Government plans to block the flow of water to the Pennaiyar River altogether. Farmers here were optimistic that the state government would take up with the Union Ministry of Water Resources, the proposal to divert the excess flow of water from the Thenpennaiyar River below Krishnagiri reservoir to the water-starved Palar basin through a Pennaiyar-Palar link project.

The State government has sanctioned works, estimated to cost around Rs.11.49 crore, for the artificial recharge of groundwater.

They cover the formation of subsurface dykes, percolation ponds, check dams and recharge shafts/ tube wells. A release on Tuesday stated that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had approved the proposals.

The Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned over Rs 115 crore for two projects under the Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Bodies Restoration and Management programme to modernise irrigati