Marine Police Station flouting coastal rules?
CHENNAI: Construction of a new marine police station at Kalpakkam in an area reported to be nesting site of endangered Olive Ridley turtles has evoked strong opposition from activists. Locals have filed a case in the National Green Tribunal contending that the place being a turtle nesting site no construction could be allowed as per the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.
To back the claim, it was pointed out that Tree Foundation, a turtle conservation group, has an hatchery set-up in the area and every year collects eggs and release the young ones into the sea. Also, a Dutch Fort, a monument protected by the ASI, is barely a stone’s throw away. As per the CRZ Notification, 2011, 500 metres from High Tide Line is the CRZ area and if there is turtle nesting or an ASI monument the area becomes CRZ 1.
After the case was filed in the green tribunal, a team headed by C Kaliyaperumal, scientist ‘F’, Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change (MoEF) visited the site on May 12, but didn’t find a trace of turtle nesting. It, however, recorded the presence of a hatchery and the Dutch Fort in the area in its report.
As per the report, the distance of the police station from the HTL is 45 metres. The station is located between the HTL and the Dutch Fort, which the petitioner’s counsel calls as utter violation.
However, Additional Government Pleader N Manoharan told Express that as per ASI Act 100 metres from the monument is prohibited zone and the station is 103 metres away. “The team has found no turtle nesting in the site. So, the area is CRZ, where the construction is allowed. Actually, on December 3, 2008, soon after Mumbai blasts in November 2008, the Union Environment Ministry stressed the need to have coastal police stations for defence, policing and vigilance and said they should be treated as an activity requiring foreshore facilities and granted permission to be set up in CRZ area,” he said.
Kalpakkam is a sensitive area due to the presence of atomic power stations and was one of the sites identified to beef up coastal security after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Accordingly, Union government had sanctioned a marine police station at Kalpakkam. However, the site
chosen for the construction has become a subject of debate due to ecological concerns.
When contacted, C Sylendra Babu, ADGP, Coastal Security Group (the wing of the State police that controls the marine police station), said “marine police station is meant to protect the endangered marine life, including Olive Ridley turtles, which are being poached for meat. Also, strategically, the station is important to keep a tight vigil on the suspicious movements.”