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CHENNAI: PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday strongly condemned the real estate sector's demand to lift construction restrictions around the ecologically sensitive Pallikaranai marshland here.
He warned that prioritising commercial interests over ecological survival would prove catastrophic for Chennai, which relies on the wetland as its primary natural defence against devastating floods.
Noting that a representation by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), which claimed that the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) ban on new constructions within a one km radius of the marshland has stalled economic activities worth Rs 72,000 crore, Anbumani termed the demand a "toxic proposal coated in sugar".
According to him, the Pallikaranai marshland, which once spanned 15,000 acres, has shrunk to a mere 1,725 acres. Referring to the Supreme Court order dated December 11, 2024, to demarcate and notify the boundaries of 26,883 wetlands within three months, he said, "The government failed to implement this directive because those in power wanted construction activities to continue for personal gains," he alleged.
He added, "This is why the DMK government previously permitted a private company to construct high-rise apartments worth Rs 2,000 crore in the Pallikaranai marsh area".
Urging the state government not to succumb to corporate or real estate pressures, regardless of the financial magnitude cited, he demanded that the government immediately take steps to formally demarcate and officially notify the boundaries of the Pallikaranai marshland in accordance with the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) rules.
He said that the government should integrate these boundaries into Chennai's second master plan to permanently block future encroachments and constructions, expedite the retrieval of previously encroached portions of the marshland and comply with the Supreme Court order to demarcate and notify all 26,883 wetlands.