Coimbatore: Even as a ground breaking ceremony was held at Singanallur Lake, this week to kick start Smart City plans, the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the District Administration of Coimbatore to not remove any vegetation from the lake other than Seemai Karuvelam tree (prosopis juliflora) to set pavements and park.
Coimbatore: Even as a ground breaking ceremony was held at Singanallur Lake, this week to kick start Smart City plans, the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the District Administration of Coimbatore to not remove any vegetation from the lake other than Seemai Karuvelam tree (prosopis juliflora) to set pavements and park.
Hearing a PIL filed by Raman Godhandapani from Villupuram regarding the encroachments and illegal fishing in the lake, the bench of Justices R. Hemalatha and M. Sathyanarayanan, also directed the District Administration, Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation and the Forest Department to respond before January 22, 2020.
In his petition, Godhandapani had stated that the lake spread over 288 acres of land, hosts 453 species of plants, 115 species of butterflies and 67 species of insects, according to scientific reports.
The petitioner further stated that due to the ecological significance of the lake, it was announced as 'Urban Biodiversity Conservation Zone' by the State Government in 2017.
“The District Administration had also issued orders to stop fishing in the lake after December 2018 and also plant saplings. However, since the order was not implemented properly, fishing still continues unabated in the lake,” the petitioner had said.
Hearing his pleas, the bench directed the State to respond and also directed that no vegetation should be removed from the lake bund other than Prosopis Juliflora.
It may be noted that the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation had organised a ground breaking ceremony to begin smart city work in the lake, recently.
According to their work in Ukkadam big tank and Valankulam, the work at the lake could include removal of vegetation to give way for pavements and park.