Farmers and potters have been informed about the permission granted by government departments for removal of top soil from waterbodies.In Coimbatore district, removal of top soil has been permitted from 149 waterbodies under the control of the departments of Rural Development (four) and Panchayat Raj (145) as well as 27 waterbodies under the Water Resources Department.The permissible limit is 75 square metre per applicant for an acre of irrigable fields and 90 square metre per acre for rainfed fieldsThe applicants have been instructed to apply online at tnesevai.tn.gov.in, and approach the respective taluk offices 10 days after applying.Potters could source 60 sq metre of clay each, and 30 square metre of clay for domestic purpose.The applicants should be residents of the taluk where the specified waterbodies are located.In Tiruppur, the district administration has permitted farmers and potters to collect alluvial soil and clay respectively from 25 waterbodies under the Water Resources Department, and 445 waterbodies under the Rural Development Department.Farmers’ associations are learnt to have urged the authorities to put in place measures to ensure that unscrupulous entities do not remove gravel from the waterbodies under the garb of agriculturists.Such entities look at this opportunity for windfall gains by selling the excavated gravel to builders, according to a Tiruppur-based environmentalist.According to officials, the documents of landholdings by the farmers or cultivating tenants as per Adangal register would be verified for ratifying their applications.As for potters, only members of Pottery Labourers Co-operative Society registered under Tamil Nadu Co-operative Societies Act, 1983 (Tamil Nadu Act 30 and 1983) will be permitted to source clay from the waterbodies. Published - May 27, 2026 06:41 pm IST