HC orders mapping of all wetlands in TN from June
The Madras High Court has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to carry out mapping of wetlands in all districts of the state from June this year on the lines of the exercise carried out in Tiruvallur district.
The court has also directed the state to submit reports on the progress of the exercise periodically to the court in order to preserve these natural resources.
The first bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice J Sathya Narayana Prasad passed the order on Friday while hearing a suo motu case on conservation of wetlands.
“The mapping of wetlands, as done in Tiruvallur district, must be undertaken. This process in all the districts has to be undertaken expeditiously and it shall commence by June 2024,” the bench said.
The court said the mapping of wetlands in other districts must be carried out on the lines of the pilot project implemented in Tiruvallur.
The HC had, on August 26, 2022, ordered the state to complete the mapping of wetlands in Tiruvallur based on the mapping done by amicus curiae T Mohan with the help of a technical team and do physical verification of the wetlands to compare them with 2011 data.