NGT pulls up authorities over sewage discharge into Puzhal lake

The bench also said that if the Avadi City Municipal Corporation and the Tiruvallur District Collector failed to file their respective reports before the next hearing, each report would be accepted only on payment of ₹50,000 as costs. | Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) to submit an updated report on the status of underground sewerage connections in 30 streets around Puzhal Lake, noting that no progress report had been filed since January 2025.The southern bench of the NGT, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Prashant Gargava, passed the directions while hearing a suo motu case based on a report published in The Hindu in December 2023 on encroachments and waste pollution along the rear bund of Red Hills Lake.According to a CMWSSB report filed in January 2025, underground sewerage facilities were unavailable in 30 of the 110 streets in the area, covering 628 premises. The Board had said that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was being prepared to extend the underground sewerage system (UGSS) to these areas.The sewage collected from the existing collection systems was being taken to sewage pumping stations at Iyyankulam, Karukku, and Korattur before being pumped to the Kodungaiyur Sewage Treatment Plant, the report said.However, the bench observed that there had been no update on the completion of the UGSS in the 30 streets since January 2025.The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), in its report filed in June this year, said it had issued a show-cause notice to the Zonal Officer, Zone VII of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Superintending Engineer, CMWSSB, Zone VII, seeking an explanation on why environmental compensation of ₹3.45 crore should not be imposed.The TNPCB had also directed the CMWSSB to ensure that 100% of households in Kallukuppam, Banu Nagar, Pudur, and Venkatachalam Nagar were connected to a functional UGSS within three months. Any further delay would be treated as wilful negligence and could attract additional environmental penalties, it said.The Board was also directed to ensure that untreated or partially treated sewage and sullage were not discharged into Puzhal Lake or any other waterbody under any circumstances.The bench also directed the GCC to file an updated report, noting that its last report in the matter was filed in 2024. The Avadi City Municipal Corporation, which the bench said was directly involved in the case, had also not filed a report despite the TNPCB levying environmental compensation.The bench warned that if the Avadi City Municipal Corporation and the Tiruvallur District Collector failed to file their respective reports before the next hearing, each report would be accepted only on payment of ₹50,000 as costs.The matter has been posted for October 5, 2026. Published - August 31, 2026 07:58 pm IST