Chennai: A lawyer has moved Madras high court seeking removal of a commercial complex and public toilets constructed by filling a quarry pond located on govt land in Thiruneermalai.According to advocate O Udhayakumar, authorities of Tambaram Corporation filled the pond with soil and construction debris and built five commercial complexes and a public toilet.Admitting the plea on Friday, a division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice K Surender directed the authorities to respond to the plea in four weeks. According to the petitioner, a resident of Thirumangai Azhwarpuram, Thiruneermalai, a quarry pond had existed there for several decades .The water body helped prevent flooding during the monsoon season and since it has been closed, it poses a threat to public safety, he said. The toilets constructed in the water body could lead to environmental damage, he said. He added that the land has been classified as ‘vettu pallam’ (quarry pit) in the revenue records. “The land was used to quarry stones. In the process, a deep depression was formed over several years, which evolved as a water body in the area. The pond was at least 50 feet deep, and it has been closed with construction debris by the authorities,” he said.
