Irresponsible justification on Pallikaranai marshland, Anbumani slams TN govt

CHENNAI: PMK leader Anbumani on Wednesday trained his guns at the state government for permitting a private firm to build a Rs 2,000-crore multi-storeyed residential complex within the boundary of the Pallikaranai marshland, a site designated as a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

He alleged that the approval exposes the DMK government's collusion with real estate companies to destroy ecologically sensitive areas. Anbumani referred to the state government's recent clarification that the 1,248-hectare Ramsar site includes 698 hectares of protected marshland and 550 hectares yet to be formally demarcated. The government's statement also claimed that, as boundaries have not been officially defined, the construction site is considered "patta land."

Calling this justification "irresponsible", Anbumani said, "By admitting that boundary demarcation was deliberately delayed, the DMK government has effectively confessed to scientifically planned corruption."

He also condemned the state government for filing a second appeal in the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court order transferring the investigation into the murder of former state president of BSP, Armstrong, to the CBI.

"Instead of cooperating with the investigation and handing over all case documents to the CBI, the DMK government has now filed a second appeal in the Supreme Court asking to halt the CBI inquiry. This clearly shows there's something the government wants to hide," he said.