CHENNAI: The proposal to build a new Secretariat complex has once again brought the debate over relocating Tamil Nadu’s seat of power to the fore. Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, in a statement under Rule 110 during the budget session, announced that the government plans to construct the new facility at Rs 1,200 crore.
A subsequent government order identified the site as Foreshore Estate, once occupied by government servants in a Housing Board colony.
Now awaiting clearance from the CMDA, the move has triggered strong opposition from several quarters. While few dispute that the present Secretariat inside Fort St George has become overcrowded and unmanageable, planning the new administrative complex along the narrow, congested stretch of Santhome High Road a predominantly residential zone packed with educational institutions and places of worship raises severe concerns.
Constructing government offices and sensitive establishments along the coastal route has always given rise to several problems. The present Madras High Court building, constructed and completed in 1910, made a small mistake in planning by locating the lighthouse on top of it simply because it faced the north beach. Within four years, in 1914, the building was targeted by the German warship Emden. A shell fell near the gate, where a small monument stands today in its memory. Afraid of further attacks, the High Court was shifted to two places Coimbatore and Cuddapah. After a few months of exile, it was brought back. At that time, due to the shelling, half of Madras city was evacuated due to safety concerns. Both old lighthouses have now become heritage sites, and the new lighthouse was constructed far away from the High Court and Secretariat, closer to the fishermen hamlets.
Years went by, yet people did not realise the danger of living near coastal areas. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to meet the Chinese Prime Minister at Mahabalipuram, it was planned to house both of them in a five-star hotel near Kovalam. However, Chinese security experts refused to clear the location because the hotel was very close to the coast and could easily be targeted by enemy warships. The Chinese Prime Minister stayed in a hotel near Guindy and attended the meet. If what was risky for a foreign leader posed such a threat, why is the present government, without any concept of security, planning to locate the headquarters of the entire Tamil Nadu state within 500 metres of the coast?
Besides security concerns, there are other issues in and around the proposed location of the Secretariat complex. Initially, the Housing Board built apartment complexes and rented them out to government servants working in the Secretariat and Ezhilagam complex on the beach road so that access to their workplace would be easy. However, over time, due to lack of maintenance, the buildings deteriorated, leading to eviction of the occupants and sparking several litigations. To evict the defiant tenants, the Housing Board cut electricity and water supply to the quarters. The forcibly evicted government employees sought assurances for rehabilitation in the same place due to its locational advantage, and the then government gave assurances that whenever new complexes were constructed, they would be relocated. The present attempt to construct offices instead of living quarters has once again angered them over the failed promise.
The sensitive nature of the coast is difficult for any layperson to understand. In November 1966, due to a heavy storm, a Liberian merchant ship (SS Stamatis) ran aground near the mouth of the Cooum river. The owners did not remove the remaining parts of the vessel and left its submerged portion in the very same area. Much later, on the southern side near Nochikuppam, when sea erosion entered the land area, a substantial portion of the beach was washed away, leading to the dumping of stone boulders along the coast to stop further encroachment. At that time, experts pointed out that this sea erosion was caused by the remains of the ship altering the course of the waves.
In November 1985, when MGR was Chief Minister, an attempt was made to clear the Marina beach, which was strewn with catamarans and fishing nets. Someone who thought of beautifying the city wanted to remove these, which were the sole source of livelihood for hundreds of fishermen living in hamlets (kuppams) along the coast. The police swooped in one night, removed all catamarans and possessions, and dumped them somewhere in western Madras. The aggrieved fishermen protested, which was met by police firing in which seven fishermen were killed. Even today, the fisherfolk observe a remembrance day for those killed and cherish their memory.
Later, when a case was filed, the Madras High Court dismissed it. However, the Supreme Court came to their rescue and ordered the restoration of their fishing equipment and catamarans to Marina beach. During the hearing, the three-judge Bench asked the Tamil Nadu counsel only one question: "You came first or they came first?" It meant that present-day Chennai city was essentially a cluster of fishermen hamlets, and the first to arrive were the fishermen, not present-day Chennaites. This should make urban planners realise that whenever any plan is conceived along the coast, they should not disturb the original inhabitants of this city, which has just celebrated its 387th year.
Clearing fishermen's huts from various kuppams and relocating them in tenements built by the TN Slum Clearance Board did not solve the issue of their livelihood, which cannot be far from their boats and nets dried on the beach. After the narrowing of the beach near the Santhome side, the government attempted to lay a loop road parallel to Santhome High Road, which faces perennial traffic congestion due to educational institutions and places of worship. The government originally thought it would serve as a bypass without realising that it would harm fishermen crossing the road to reach the sea and sell their fresh catch along the beach.
Therefore, the government came up with a new idea in 2016 to construct an elevated highway connecting the new lighthouse to Tiruvanmiyur across the Adyar River and over the Loop Road. However, such a high-rise construction would attract Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules as it comes within the prohibited distance from the high-tide line. Consumer action groups also highlighted environmental hazards, such as blocking the beach, affecting fishermen's livelihoods, and disturbing turtles coming to the coast to lay eggs.
The government gave up that idea. However, during another litigation in 2020, the court suggested coming up with a proposal to link Foreshore Estate with Tiruvanmiyur across the Adyar as a parallel traffic route. No such ideas were pursued, knowing the difficulties involved. Given the lack of an alternative road to reach the proposed Foreshore Estate complex, what will be the additional traffic load? It is estimated that there will be a daily footfall of one lakh people if the Secretariat and Assembly are located here, including permanent employees, support staff, and the public.
The nearest MRTS station (Mandaveli) is roughly 1.5 kms from the complex, while the proposed Metro station near Janaki MGR College is around 2 kms away. There is no possibility of increasing bus routes along Santhome High Road, which is the sole road link between south and north. In contrast, the present Secretariat inside Fort St George has a railway link running along its outer wall, with a suburban electric station connecting to all directions. Around one lakh people use the Fort railway station daily, and on the front side, Kamaraj Salai (South Beach Road) is an eight-lane highway linking south and north. Therefore, merely locating an office complex without providing sufficient transport facilities for employees and the public is no solution.
One cannot forget the 2004 tsunami when the ferocious sea entered almost 2 to 3 kms inland. The present location, which housed government servants at the time, was completely marooned, and water reached up to Mandaveli bus stand, making the area accessible only by boats operated by fishermen. The entire hamlet of Srinivasapuram was washed away, necessitating its reconstruction. It is said that tsunamis occur roughly once in 60 years, and any planning near the coast must keep natural fury in mind.
The present location is essentially a wetland forming part of the Adyar Estuary and backwaters flowing behind Srinivasapuram, adjacent to Quibble Island cemetery, and passing through South Canal Road to Mandaveli bus stand. Lands along Santhome High Road starting from Andhra Mahila Sabha up to Foreshore Estate are in an ecologically fragile zone where normally no construction should be permitted. However, over the years, construction continued until a memorial for Ambedkar was conceived at one end. The project, which was to include a library and wedding hall, was opposed on the grounds that no such construction should be permitted in an area abutting the backwaters of the Adyar.
A case was filed by a consumer action group, and the Madras High Court ordered a halt to all construction except the memorial itself. The High Court issued the following directions in 1994:
(ii) Respondents 1 to 6 are directed to remove the sands spread on the western side of the said five-acre plot and restore the said area to its original position. It is open to the sixth respondent to retain the sand spread on the eastern side of the five-acre plot up to an extent indicated by the boundaries in Clause (i) above.
(iii) Respondents 1 to 6 are restrained by an order of injunction from constructing an Auditorium or any other type of building other than what is permitted under Clause (i) above, in any place of Survey No. 4309 and its sub-divisions.
(iv) The entire low-lying wetland in Survey No. 4309 and its sub-divisions which are vested with the fourth respondent under G.O.Ms. No. 2186, Revenue, dated 16.10.1990 shall be maintained and preserved as low-lying wetlands. If at all any development is sought to be made by the respondents, it shall be only as per paragraph 7 of the counter-affidavit of the fourth respondent. They shall not permit or authorise construction of any type, be it an Office Complex or a Commercial Complex.
The official residence of the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, located just opposite the memorial, could not build an annexure in its available open space due to this restraint order, and it is maintained merely as a lawn and garden. That being the case, where is the question of building a 15-storey Secretariat complex with deep pile foundations that may destroy subterranean water flow, dry up the estuary and backwaters, and violate environmental safeguards?
There is yet another issue which the government never considered: the proposed 15-storey complex falls under the flight path used by aircraft arriving in the city from northern, north-western, southern, and eastern directions. A substantial number of aircraft, after entering the Bay of Bengal, reach the mouth of the Adyar River and fly over it up to Lok Bhavan and the Race Course before landing on the runway.
The proposed complex certainly falls within this flight path and violates the Height Restrictions for Safeguarding Aircraft Operations Rules 2015.
No construction or planting is allowed within a 20 km radius of an airport's Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP) without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), irrespective of height or structure type. This includes residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, communication towers, chimneys, antennas, and trees that could grow into flight paths. These rules apply across the country to maintain the safety of aircraft operations during key phases of flight.
In view of these environmental issues, threats to fisherfolk livelihoods, legal restraint orders, and aviation hazards, the government would be well advised to shift the project to a non-objectionable inland location. Otherwise, due to its deep foundations, the foreshore area will become an offshore casualty sooner or later.
—The writer is a former judge of the Madras High Court