Anbumani Ramadoss questions wetland authority over shrinking Pallikaranai protection zone
Chennai, Oct 13 (IANS) PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has accused the Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority of prioritising private developers’ interests over protecting Pallikaranai marsh, questioning its decision to sharply reduce the wetland’s zone of influence while delaying notification of its boundaries.
In a statement, he said the authority had informed the Madras High Court that the zone would be reduced from 8,397 acres to 316 acres following consultations with officials from various departments on September 30, this year.
The submission came during proceedings on petitions filed by private construction companies challenging the National Green Tribunal’s September 24 order last year banning construction within one kilometre of the marsh.
The developers welcomed the authority’s decision, he said. Anbumani questioned why the authority had acted swiftly to reduce the zone but had failed to implement the Supreme Court’s December 11, 2024 direction to demarcate and notify wetlands.
“Is the authority working for the government and the people, or for private construction companies?” he asked.
He said the PMK favoured scientifically determining zones of influence and fully surveying and notifying wetland boundaries.
Construction in such zones should be regulated rather than subjected to a blanket prohibition, he added.
Citing the 2021 ISRO wetland atlas, Anbumani said Tamil Nadu’s 26,883 wetlands exceeding 2.25 hectares could be identified and demarcated using satellite data.
He recalled that the authority had told the High Court on December 3 last year that satellite-based mapping of Pallikaranai was 99 per cent complete and sought additional time to submit its report.
Yet, more than ten months later, notification remained pending, he alleged.
Despite the authority’s establishment in 2016 and the introduction of wetland conservation rules in 2017, he alleged that little progress had been made in securing statutory protection.
Anbumani urged the TVK government to end the delays that persisted during the previous DMK administration and ensure the authority fulfilled its responsibilities.
He claimed Pallikaranai, which once covered 15,000 acres between the Adyar river and Buckingham Canal, stretching from Guindy to Siruseri, had shrunk to 1,725 acres because of encroachments.
Seeking immediate notification and protection of all wetlands, he also demanded that construction of a six-foot-high protective wall along three kilometres of Pallikaranai and a two-kilometre walkway be abandoned. Structures already erected under these projects should be demolished, he said, urging government intervention.
—IANS
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