The State government on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that it had constituted an expert committee for coming up with suggestions and ideas on augmenting the water table by harnessing rainwater through various means rather than letting copious water flow into the sea. The court was told that a government order had been issued, constituting the panel.
Advocate-General Vijay Narayan submitted a copy of the G.O. before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, and said the committee was, however, not in a position to go ahead and suggest new policy decisions, since the model code of conduct was in force in view of the impending Assembly election, scheduled on April 6.
After recording his submissions, the judges adjourned further hearing on the issue to the third week of April. The Chief Justice had insisted upon the constitution of such a committee during the last hearing of a public interest litigation petition in February. He had requested the A-G to bestow personal attention to the issue since it involved larger public interest of preserving water sources.
