The state government revealed to the Madras High Court that more than 6,500 out of the 14,138 water tanks managed by the Water Resources Department have been encroached upon. Special Government Pleader R Anita informed the first bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy that a total of 98,875 encroachments have been identified on water bodies in the state. Approximately 20,150 encroachments, covering an area of 3,243 hectares, have been removed so far. The government is taking eviction steps in accordance with the Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachment Act, 2007.
Under the TN Land Encroachment Act, 1905, as of June 30, 2023, 1,918 water bodies were identified as encroached upon, with eviction proceedings initiated in 405 tanks. Out of a total of 93,652 identified encroachments, 15,617, covering 15,617 hectares, have been removed. The government submitted that as of March 2020, 1,166 firkas (administrative divisions) were categorized into five types: 435 over-exploited, 63 critical, 225 semi-critical, 409 safe, and 34 saline/poor quality. According to the 2022 report on dynamic groundwater resources by the Central Ground Water Board, the number of safe firkas increased by 54, semi-critical increased by 6, and critical firkas decreased by 75.
These submissions were made in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by G Devarajan, seeking court orders to protect water bodies from encroachment. The executive engineer of Kosasthalaiyar basin division reported that restoration works are underway for 2,300 tanks under a World Bank-funded program, covering regions such as Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy, and Coimbatore.
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