The government’s Budget announcement that ecorestoration of 695 hectares of Pallaikaranai marshland will start this year has brought cheer. However, at least 1,000 encroachments in the marshland have emerged as a stumbling block for the project, said revenue officials.
According to the officials, encroachments cover 13 hectares in Pallikaranai marshland. “Eviction notice has been given to encroachers in areas such as Mahalakshmi Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Kamatchi Nagar and Quaid E Milleth Nagar. But the government has not evicted any encroacher. There are commercial buildings encroaching upon the marshland in areas adjacent to Balaji Dental College,” said an official.
Biometric survey of encroachments on the marsh has been completed in all areas except K.P. Kandan Nagar. Chennai Corporation gave 180 hectares of marshland in the southern part of Radial Road in 2012 to the Forest Department to facilitate ecorestoration. “But they did not restore the marshland because of encroachments,” said a civic official.
According to sources, the land handed over by the Chennai Corporation had also been encroached upon in areas such as Kamatchi Nagar and Quaid E Milleth Nagar, preventing Forest Department from restoring the marsh.
Another 172 hectares in the northern part of radial road had been used for dumping of garbage. The civic body had already polluted 75 hectares of Pallikaranai marshland for Perungudi dumpyard.
Environmental damage
In 2012, the Corporation asked the Kancheepuram district administration to fix the market value of the land in Pallikaranai, proposing to construct a reinforced cement concrete wall to demarcate 81 hectares of the marshland that would be used for solid waste management and to prevent further environmental damage of the marshland.
The Chennai Corporation is planning to start remediation of the marshland where garbage is being dumped. This will be done through the integrated management of the Pallikaranai marshland, conserving it as a natural wastewater purification system, decreasing water pollution, preserving biological diversity, checking floods, and mitigating the effect of cyclones.
The Revenue Department is yet to hand over 54 hectare of additional marshland covering the flood diversion channel of Okkiyam Maduvu to the Forest Department for ecorestoration. The land attracts 165 species of birds throughout the year, and is the key for ecorestoration of Pallikaranai marshland. If that land is also handed over to the Forest Department, at least 759 hectares of the marshland will be restored.
