Mylapore fishers cry foul, to boycott today’s meet

CHENNAI: Mylapore area fishermen have announced that they will boycott a consultation meeting scheduled by the district administration on Tuesday over the proposed construction of a new Secretariat at Pattinapakkam, alleging that the authorities failed to issue proper written invitations to all affected fishing communities. They also strongly opposed the Tamil Nadu Housing Board move to invite tenders for demolishing 96 quarters and other structures on land sought for their rehabilitation.

In a statement, the Mylai Paguthi Anaithu Meenava Grama Panchayatars Sabai said the TNHB's Nandanam Division had issued an e-tender notification for demolishing 96 quarters and other buildings at Mylapore village, and pointed out that the 3.82 acres of land in question had been sought for their permanent rehabilitation under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019. However, the government had issued an order proposing to construct a new Secretariat on the same site. They demanded the cancellation of the GO, alleging that proceeding with demolition without resolving their rehabilitation demands would undermine their rights.

They also questioned the absence of details regarding mandatory CRZ clearance in the tender documents, stating that the proposed demolition could cause environmental impacts, including dust, noise and traffic congestion.

The decision to boycott the meeting was taken at a gathering of Mylapore and Triplicane area fishermen's panchayatars on November 1. They said they had repeatedly submitted petitions seeking proper rehabilitation arrangements and a formal consultation process, but their concerns had not been adequately addressed.

Claiming that only some fishermen's representatives had been informed about the meeting through telephone calls, the fishermen demanded that the district administration issue written invitations to all affected fishing villages and conduct a proper consultation before proceeding with the project. They also called for the immediate suspension of the TNHB demolition tender, cancellation of the Secretariat project GO and allocation of the land for their long-term rehabilitation.