Nearly two years after the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) called for a survey of the Pallikaranai marshland, the Tamil Nadu government has completed a detailed assessment of the occupants of the marsh through a differential global positioning system (DGPS) survey.
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According to the State counsel, who presented the map drawn by the Survey Department before the Bench on Monday, of the total extent of 1,206.59 hectares (ha) of the Ramsar-designated Pallikaranai marshland, the Forest Department has 749 ha. The remaining 38% is legally and illegally occupied by several public and private institutions besides the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), which is in possession of 173.56 ha.
The Bench, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati, directed the GCC, which operates a huge garbage dump yard and has recently proposed an ‘eco-park’, to find an alternative place and allow the marshland to be restored to its original state.
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It was said that 40 acres of the dump yard has been reclaimed through biomining and will be handed over to the Forest Department. The counsel appearing for the civic body said another 100 acres was planned to be reclaimed by the end of 2024.
The DGPS survey map of Pallikaranai marshland. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
As per the data, the other major occupants of the Pallikaranai marshland are the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) (163.25 ha) and the Railways (46.92 ha). Another information technology (IT) park, Chennai One, illegally occupies 5.85 ha, said the State counsel. Referring to the companies, Mr. Korlapati said: “They can go to Siruseri. There’s a lot of land for IT companies there.” As for the Railways, the Bench said nothing could be done and asked the counsel to direct them to pay for maintenance.
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) each occupy 20.71 ha and 1.93 ha respectively. “NIOT and NIWE are the government, they cannot encroach. You can give them an alternative piece of land to shift to,” the State counsel was told.
Besides the institutions, residential areas, such as Kamakshi Nagar and Quaid-e-Millath Nagar (10 ha), Ambedkar Nagar (4.88 ha), Pari Nagar (3.24 ha), Mahalakshmi Nagar (2.91 ha), Maposi Nagar (2.38 ha), and Kandan Nagar (3.92 ha), have been built on the marshland, which continues to be polluted by sewage from residences and the waste from GCC’s dump yard.
Ordering the State government to think of eviction options for these areas, the Bench sought a detailed response on the matter and has listed the case for hearing on February 9.