Pen Memorial: Application forwarded to Centre after State’s nod

CHENNAI: Following the clearance given by Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) to construct Kalaignar Pen Monument in Bay of Bengal off Marina, the State Public Works department (PWD) has applied for environmental clearance from the Central government.

In a letter to the Environment Impact Assessment Authority of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the PWD said that the department, in compliance to the recommendations of the Specific Terms of Reference (TOR) issued by the central government, carried out various aspects of research and study by accredited experts and consultants. "Necessary reports have been obtained from the experts pertaining to the various fields of activity as recommended by the Specific TOR," it said.

The letter also noted that a public hearing was conducted by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on January 31 and added issues raised by participants have been duly addressed and detailed reports have been prepared and submitted to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

Subsequently, the District Coastal Zone Management Authority (DCZMA) meeting was convened on March 24 and recommendations have been made to approve the project. Following this, a TNSCZMA meeting was conducted on April 5 and the authority recommended the proposal to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for clearance under CRZ Notification.

It may be noted that the central government has given Specific Terms of Reference and directed to address some issues and conduct studies apart from conducting a public hearing.

The government has proposed to erect a pen monument about 360 metres from the coastline and to construct a footbridge connecting the memorial and the monument sites.

The construction of Pen Monument and the connecting foot bridge is located in the CRZ Zones II, IA and IVA.

TNSCZMA has already given its recommendations to construct a museum inside the Karunanidhi memorial.