Velachery Lake encroachment: Residents deserve a fair resolution

-- by Varsha V.

Following a directive from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Water Resources Department (WRD) has begun a survey of the Velachery Lake encroachments. According to the WRD, rainwater runoff from the Guindy National Park and IIT Madras flows into the lake before reaching the sea; but the lake has shrunk from 265 acres to a mere 55, thus affecting its capacity to hold water. This has now been identified as the cause of habitual flooding in South Chennai. The NGT has directed the State to address the issue by either relocating encroachers or establishing new waterbodies upstream.

The current encroachment survey has drawn protests from residents of the areas under the scanner, namely Jaganathapuram, Rajalakshmi Nagar, Sasinagar and Gandhinagar. The community does not wish to relocate. Their roots run deep, and moving away stands to affect their social networks and livelihoods. Pointing out that past resettlement exercises to areas like Perumbakkam have not quite been successful – the relocated allegedly still face issues with water supply and lack proper facilities – residents ask why they cannot be provided with alternate housing in the same area. Their argument is simple. They have lived in these homes for decades, and have paid all related dues to the State including electricity and metro water bills. There is also the matter of the shopping malls and commercial complexes of the area that qualify for similar scrutiny; why, they ask, haven’t they come under the ambit of such an exercise? “For 40 years, we’ve been paying bills and taxes. Did the government realise only now that we live in the lake basin? Or is it convenient for them to throw us out while letting the rich keep their buildings?” asked a Gandhipuram resident in a piece published in South First. According to the same news report, the local councillor had reportedly not visited the area at the time of the article, despite the situation.

The questions are fair. Evicting tax-paying households in a bid to reclaim encroachments is a lopsided, unfair solution that whitewashes the role played by the developers who built and sold the tenements as well as the civic and regulatory bodies that allowed it. This discrepancy is made the starker when the administration turns a blind eye to similarly encroaching high-rises. There is certainly a pressing need to address the root cause of flooding, but placing the entire burden of resolution on the shoulders of communities that can ill bear the weight – and who are not the primary reason for the mess – rings unjust.

The NGT, as mentioned above, has given the State an alternative to relocation – that of establishing new waterbodies upstream to catch some of the rainwater runoff. The tribunal even suggested establishing a new lake within the erstwhile Madras Race Club premises to serve the purpose. This is, in fact, underway – a lake roughly three acres large is currently being constructed. However, the available land totals a whopping 148 acres; the lake can certainly be a much larger waterbody if the administration so wishes. It is hard to think of reasons why the new lake cannot be made larger, especially if it will help protect even a part of the community currently under pressure.

For now, the administration is reportedly working on desilting supply channels and deepening the Velachery lake to improve its capacity. It reportedly also plans to deepen waterbodies in surrounding areas such as Madipakkam, Kilkattalai, Moovarasampettai, Narayanapuram and Palllikaranai. However, when it comes to solutions that carry a human cost, it would serve the administration well to take initiative beyond mere execution of procedure; there must be an outreach that documents the grievances and needs of the affected, so that any solution involving eviction and rehabilitation is not only legal but also just.

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