Indian Express: Chennai: Saturday, June 17, 2017.
State and
Central government entities have converted over 1,000 acres of the ecologically
sensitive Ennore creek and have more in the pipeline in violation of mandatory
procedures, alleged activists on Friday in a revelation that raises serious
concerns.
The creek’s
8,000-acre water spread area is classified as CRZ-1 (Coastal Regulation Zone),
where development is strictly regulated, according to Coastal Zone Management
Plan (CZMP) of 1996. As per CRZ notification, this is the only approved map,
and the state and district coastal zone management authorities have to refer to
it while appraising all applications seeking clearance.
In two
separate RTI responses to Coastal Resource Centre, an NGO, the Tiruvallur
district Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) and the State CZMA have
revealed that neither has a copy of the approved map for Ennore creek. The
district authority admitted that it relied solely on the maps submitted by the
project proponents.
“The CZMP of
1996 has so far been kept under the carpet. Major establishments like Kamarajar
Port and the thermal power plants have got clearances based on unapproved maps
prepared by their consultants. This is a serious violation by State and Central
public sector undertakings,” said Nityanand Jayaraman of Save Ennore Creek
Campaign.
Some of the
activities like port and oil storage containers are permitted in CRZ-1, but the
basis on which the clearances were obtained was wrong.
Kamarajar
Port is now converting 280 acres of waterbody into land for a coal yard,
TANGEDCO is also dumping sand and blocking the creek to construct a coal
conveyor belt for the Ennore Thermal Power Station and Bharat Petroleum is
building a storage facility on 102 acres of the wetland. “Such activities are strictly
prohibited in CRZ-1 and clearances can’t be granted as per the CZMP approved in
1996.”
For obtaining
clearance, BPCL submitted maps prepared by Institute of Remote Sensing (IRS),
according to which the project site falls in CRZ-1(A), CRZ-1(B) and CRZ-3.
Based on this map, the State coastal zone management authority has issued
clearance with the condition that no activity be carried out in CRZ-1 areas.
However, IRS maps are not approved, and CZMP map shows the entire project site
falls in CRZ-1 area, which meant clearance shouldn’t have been granted.
Releasing the
documents, retired Madras High Court Justice D Hariparanthaman, and former
expert member of the National Green Tribunal, R Nagendran, noted that the creek
automatically enjoys protection under Wetland Rules, 2010.
Meanwhile, an
open letter endorsed by Environmentalist Foundation of India, Poovulagin Nanbargal,
Ilanthamizhagam and Arappor Iyakkam has been sent to chief secretary seeking to
further halt encroachment and declare it as a ‘climate sanctuary’.