CHENNAI: There is a popular saying, “If you mess with nature, it messes with you”. This suits best for residents and business complexes that have dotted Pallikaranai marshland, one of the most significant wetlands in India, with weather models predicting very intense rainfall over the next week.
A large part of South Chennai was historically a flood plain, and was built on the ecologically-sensitive Pallikaranai marshland. The areas between Perungudi to Kelambakkam, covering almost a distance of 15-20 km and abutting Old Mahabalipuram Road, are most affected when there is a heavy downpour.
Though, water-logging is not uncommon during monsoon in these areas, the phenomenon of urban flooding due to continuing encroachments of marshy wetlands, thanks to the nexus between government officials and real-estate sharks, is putting thousands of lives in harm’s way.
Earlier this month, a PIL was filed in Madras High Court against registrar P Sivapriya, who allegedly amassed crores forging documents to handover Pallikaranai marshland to private persons.
The court has admitted the PIL and the official is facing a special investigation team (SIT) probe.
To have a microscopic understanding of the problem, Express visited Thalambur, Navalur, Perumbakkam and adjourning areas where several new high-rise residential complexes are coming up. The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) is constructing 14,000 apartments meant to be given free for people evicted from the banks of Cooum and Adyar rivers.
Already, there are slum-dwellers occupying the old apartments, which is adjacent to DLF Garden City, which has 1,400 luxury apartments. Opposite to the DLF Garden city are six Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) multi-storied apartments that are nearing completion. At Perumbakkam wetland, which is also a marsh, Central Institute of Classical Tamil is coming up.
When this correspondent visited Thalambur on November 4, the whole area was flooded. The DLF residents along with slum-dwellers were in heated argument with the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) and tahsildar as they deployed heavy machinery to cut the road used by the residents to allow flood waters upstream near Guduvancheri, where nearly 25 villages were flooded, to drain into a nearby canal. RDO Chandrasekharan candidly accepted that all these constructions were on marshland, which are blocking the floodwaters to flow.
“During 2015 floods, the water level touched second floor. We have taken several measures since then to mitigate the problem, but the unscientific constructions are a problem.” However, Ram, member of the DLF Garden City residents association, said the government had given all the approvals.
Last year, senior IAS officer P Amudha has visited the area and pointed out that when she was heading the land administration and revenue records, she had refused construction permits in the area, including that of DLF, because it was marshy land. “State government should question itself as to how it gave the approvals. Now, all we want is find a place for the water to flow,” Ram said.
At the same time, a battery of top officials from TNSCB also arrived at the spot to inspect the area. A superintendent engineer told Express that the new TNSCB project was conceived taking into account 100 years of historical rainfall data, and ensured that the low lying area was elevated above the maximum flood line.
“The extreme weather events that we are seeing in last couple of years is unprecedented. Also, the flooding in the area was due to other unauthorised structures,” he said. He added that there was a proposal in the Master Plan to have a 40m-wide canal running parallel to the project, and once it is realised the incidents of flooding will come down. V Srinivasan, convenor of Save Pallikaranai Marsh Forum, said the illegal constructions are being made legal by virtue of land reclassification, where the local panchayat passes the resolution and district collectors reclassify the land.
“The Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Centre Institute of Classical Tamil in Perumbakkam and new TNSCB structures were on wetlands and given legal status. In 2015 floods, the entire SEZ was under water. Now, the PWD has built a canal on the marshland between SEZ and the Tamil institute to drain the flood water.”
A senior State forest department official acknowledged that Pallikaranai is being threatened, but the 690 hectares under the department’s control is well protected. As per the Comprehensive Management Plan for Pallikaranai (2014-19) prepared by Care Earth, the marsh had a spread of 6,000 hectares, and a 90 per cent loss of habitat resulted in presence of only 690 hectares.