Madras High Court asks Tamil Nadu for timeline on waterbodies website compliance

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has asked the Tamil Nadu government to explain how long it will take to create a dedicated website listing all waterbodies in the state. This follows a contempt petition claiming the state has not complied with a previous court order. In March, the court ordered the website to include detailed information about waterbodies, such as their locations and dimensions, and to be accessible to the public within six months. The court also directed the identification and removal of encroachments on these waterbodies. The hearing has been postponed for one week. The case stems from a public interest litigation regarding construction projects on the bunds of Vandiyur and Thenkal tanks in Madurai, which the court allowed to proceed.