Kannan M. used to be known as a cobbler among the residents of the College Road neighbourhood in the 1990s. He sat at the corner of the road, mending shoes and slippers. Many did not notice it when he erected a small structure, encroaching upon the Cooum, but one fine day, they found the building had been converted to a temple. A signboard came up announcing the structure as a temple, and, soon enough, the residents found that it was well lit in the night. An encroachment had ‘miraculously’ acquired power supply.
Following the announcement of Cooum eco-restoration work by several civic agencies, residents are keeping their fingers crossed, saying that this lone encroacher has consistently thwarted attempts by them and officials to restore the waterway. They say he is concerned about the possibility of eviction of the structure that doubles up as a residence. “He destroyed 500 teak trees planted by residents along the river a few years ago. He continues to thwart attempts by officials to restore the river. Residents have given up,” charges C. K. Devassy, a resident of College Road.
Daring the government
Chennai Corporation officials, who have resettled 4,320 families, razing down many concrete buildings along the Cooum, are reluctant to remove such structures put up by people who resist the eco-restoration projects.
As a result, the Corporation has been able to take up just eight of the 23 parks proposed under the ₹10,000 crore eco-restoration project in 2013 for city waterways, that required the resettlement of 55 slums and 14,257 families along the Cooum. According to sources in the Corporation, the officials are scared of removing the encroachment on College Road, concerned about ‘supernatural powers’ associated with the place.
“All other encroachments on the river are being removed without issuance of any notice. However, we may not remove this kind of encroachment,” says a Corporation official.
When contacted, Mr. Kannan responded with a threat: “This place of worship is very powerful. If the government can, let them remove it.”
Stiff opposition
More than 2,000 families from 10 of the 55 slum neighbourhoods along the Cooum have started opposing civic officials who have been trying to evict them. As a result, the Corporation is considering scaling down the Cooum river eco-restoration project, reducing the number of parks. For example, residents of areas such as Sathyavani Muthu Nagar, Sathyasai Nagar near Tirumangalam, Gajalakshmi Colony, Bharathipuram, Kathiravan Colony near Aminjikarai, Manja Kollai, Sabapathy Street, East Mada Street and Gangaiamman Nagar near Golden George Bridge have opposed officials who tried to capture biometric data to begin the process of resettlement.
Grand proposal
The Corporation may not be able to get land for developing all the 23 parks proposed as part of the eco-restoration project.
Though work orders have been issued for eight parks, just two parks, including the Nature Trail and Butterfly Park, will be taken up next month. Work on as many as 21 parks is not likely to take off in the next few years.
The Chennai Corporation Council resolved, in April 2015, to turn the Cooum into a tourist and cultural attraction at a cost of ₹1,705 crore. The State government had allocated ₹1,705 crore for the project, giving administrative sanction for the project to the tune of ₹100 crore to be implemented by the Chennai Corporation.
The first phase of the project for ₹100 crore was scheduled to be completed by April 2018. However, work on eight parks and footpaths, proposed to be completed at ₹39.87 crore by April 2018, has not taken off. Officials claim that the delay was caused by opposition to the project in various neighbourhoods.
“This is a challenge. So the Chennai Corporation has done just two things — construction of a 3.2 km wall and four boom barriers on the river. Other work has not taken off,” says a civic official. Similarly, the proposed 19-km wall along the Cooum has also not been completed.
CMDA urban planners say that the proposal to revive the elevated corridor along the Cooum River is likely to delay the eco-restoration project in many stretches. “The original proposal for the elevated corridor included several ramps. There was a proposal for ramps on College Road from the elevated corridor to reduce traffic congestion. Officials may change the alignment later. Coordination among line agencies is necessary,” an official says.
State determined
Senior officials of the State government said they will remove all kinds of encroachment on the Cooum River bank for the ecorestoration project. “We are determined,” says the official.
At recent meetings of senior officials on the eco-restoration project, proposals have been made to restrict the eviction only to neighbourhoods that support this project. Official estimates point to over 3,000 illegal buildings earmarked for the eco-restoration project that may not be demolished.
“Officials have cleared several areas along Anna Nagar, but parks have not been developed yet. All encroachments should be removed immediately. The river is becoming more polluted, increasing risks to public health,” says V. Sukumar Babu, former Chennai Corporation Council floor leader.
Disaster management expert N. Mathavan, who developed the disaster resilience index for the city, says encroachments along the Cooum are a red flag for disaster, as was proved in the December 2015 floods. “The Cooum has to carry floodwater. So encroachments have to be removed at any cost. Otherwise the disaster resilience of the city will be poor,” he explains.
Sewage audit
In 2013, agencies such as the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust, Chennai Corporation, Metrowater, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board and the Public Works Department met with municipal administration and water supply officials to finalise the contours of the Chennai Waterways Rehabilitation Programme estimated to cost ₹10,000 crore over a period of 10 years, including the Adyar river and Buckingham Canal.
“Owing to the rising number of sewage outfalls and encroachments, the Cooum will continue to be the central focus of the rehabilitation programme,” says an official.
However, many of the 700 sewage outfalls identified in the Cooum a few years ago are yet to be plugged. Some stretches of the Cooum carry turbid black waters, owing to this and other polluting factors.
Officials say the quantity of sewage mixing in the Cooum through a number of illegal outfalls has also increased considerably. But they are yet to release data based on a proper study on the sewage outfalls in the river. Senior officials rely merely on the data supplied by the civic officials during review meetings.
Residents of neighbourhoods such as Nungambakkam, Egmore and Anna Nagar along the Cooum River say the proposal to develop parks, nature trail and boardwalks along the Cooum has raised expectations, but add that they have seen too many such promises going unfulfilled to actually be excited by this proposal.
