The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered the construction of check dams in Thekkampatti village in Salem to be expedited and completed within three months.
S. Vijay, a farmer from Thekkampatti in Omalur taluk, Salem, had filed a petition in the NGT stating that groundwater in his village and surrounding areas were drying rapidly due to uncontrolled dewatering and discharge of groundwater by Tamil Nadu Magnesite Limited (TANMAG), having an extent of 96.34 hectares, in the name of stormwater removal and dewatering.
Mr. Vijay submitted that water to a level of 3,000 million litres was intended to be pumped without any specific measures for reutilisation which is illegal and is also an ecological and hydrological threat.
