Cherai canal restoration has been ordered by the Ombudsman after a canal in the Yakshithara area of Cherai, within Ward 16 of Pallippuram gram panchayat, was allegedly filled with soil and construction debris by private individuals. The order requires the water flow to be restored and directs the recovery of restoration costs from those responsible for filling the canal.
The directive also covers the expenditure incurred before the filling took place. The canal had been cleaned under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and protected with coir geotextile. The Ombudsman has ordered that the amount spent on this work, as well as the cost of restoring the canal, be recovered from the individuals who filled it.
According to the report, the canal had been cleaned to facilitate the smooth movement of water and was subsequently protected under the rural employment scheme. Despite this work, private parties allegedly deposited soil, construction waste and other materials into the channel, obstructing the waterway.
The case followed a complaint by Nobel Kumar, state secretary of the Youth Congress. An investigation was conducted after the complaint, leading to the Ombudsman’s direction for restoration and recovery of expenses.
The order places responsibility on Pallippuram gram panchayat to ensure that the watercourse in the Yakshithara area is restored so that its flow is no longer obstructed. It also links the cost of public works undertaken to maintain the canal with the action of those who allegedly filled it.
The case highlights the administrative consequences of blocking a public drainage channel after it has been maintained through a government employment programme. The reported order requires both the physical restoration of the canal and the recovery of the public expenditure involved in its earlier cleaning and protection.
Further action will now centre on reopening the filled section, restoring the canal’s water flow and recovering the costs specified in the Ombudsman’s order from the individuals identified as responsible.
