Justice M. Dhandapani of the Madras High Court has decided to pay a visit to the Thiru Vi Ka Park at Shenoy Nagar in Chennai since the High Court’s former judge K.P. Sivasubramaniam, a local resident, has expressed complete dissatisfaction over the restoration works undertaken by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
The park spread over 8.8 acres was an important lung space in the city with 328 trees (predominantly neem, pungam, Samanea saman, Peltoporum, Delonix regia and Polyalthia longifolia) until CMRL began constructing an underground station over there in 2011. As many as 242 trees were felled and 56 were translocated.
Greater Chennai Corporation had permitted the construction on condition that the park should be restored to its original glory after the construction. However, the CMRL had expressed inability to plant deep-rooted saplings in most places since there was not much space below the ground due to the underground station.
Instead, it had created amenities such as a basketball court, beach volleyball court, open air theatre, outdoor gym, musical water fountain, cricket practice area, skating ring, reading zone, an 8-shaped walkway, badminton court, meditation zone, play area and yoga pavilion amongst other structures.
Further, after constructing the entry and exit points to the CMRL station on a substantial portion of the park area, it had planted 4,800 saplings through Miyawaki method of plantation on four corners, 370 saplings within the park and 220 saplings on the periphery apart from 108 additional bamboo plantations in an attempt to provide some green cover.
However, in a letter addressed to court appointed amicus curiae Chevanan Mohan on March 3, Justice Sivasubramaniam said, there was absolutely no necessity on the part of CMRL to have disturbed such a vast area of the park when the entry and exit to the underground station required only a much smaller area.
“The entire park has been damaged to cater to the commercial avarice of CMRL in collusion with vested interests. Hoardings and huge advertisements on the southern side main entrance to the station make it appear as if the area belongs to a private hospital more than being a CMRL station,” he lamented.
‘Unnecessary felling’
The former judge also said, CMRL should have not felled hundreds of well grown old trees and created consumer amenities at the Shenoy Nagar station which had the least footfall / commuter patronage in the entire city. All the old and exotic trees were mercilessly cut and removed without any necessity, he rued.
The small number of trees now seen on the fringe area on the southern and western side were actually protected by the interim order obtained by a group of 47 residents through a writ petition in 2018. The two-tier massive concrete construction under the ground had also affected the ground water table, he added.
Since Justice Dhandapani had now embarked on an attempt to “undo the injustice done to the park,” the former judge requested Mr. Mohan to place his letter before the judge so that the latter could know that CMRL had not complied with its promise to plant 1,250 traditional and native saplings in the park.
“This has not at all been implemented by CMRL and Chennai Corporation is a mute spectator,” the former judge complained. The amicus curiae placed the letter before Justice Dhandapani along with a representation he had received from the resident welfare association too. He also said, the CMRL had planned to inaugurate the park formally this month.
