CHENNAI: Representatives of 16 fishing villages in Chengalpattu district, stretching from Kanathur Reddikuppam to Kokkilimedu, have strongly objected to the proposed Kovalam-Mahabalipuram reservoir project, warning that it could wipe out traditional fishing livelihoods, damage fragile coastal wetlands and violate key provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) framework.
At a consultation meeting held at the Thiruporur Block Development Office on Sunday morning, the fishing community submitted a formal representation opposing the project to T M Anbarasan, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, stating that the plan would dismantle “paadu rights”, customary fishing grounds used by generations of traditional fishers, and alter the ecological character of brackish backwaters and salt marshes.
The fishermen questioned the legal validity of the CRZ clearance issued by the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNCZMA) on December 3, 2025. They alleged that active fishing grounds had been misrepresented as “vacant land” to obtain clearance and claimed the project failed to map and record traditional fishing zones, as required under CRZ Notification 2019 provisions.
“The CRZ notification was framed primarily to protect coastal ecosystems and secure fisher livelihoods. But this project, in its current form, destroys our traditional fishing grounds and treats living commons as vacant land,” the representatives said in their submission.
A key concern raised was the proposed diversion of the Buckingham Canal which could obstruct monsoon drainage, intensify flooding in low-lying settlements and sever the hydrological connection between the backwaters and the sea, potentially leading to the collapse of salt marshes and brackish ecosystems that support fisheries, according to the community. The villages also warned of ecological damage from converting a brackish wetland mosaic into a freshwater storage structure. “Creating a freshwater reservoir in a brackish-water zone will destroy fish and shrimp breeding grounds,” they said, adding that the impact would extend to indigenous Irular communities living in the region.
The proposed drinking water reservoir, announced during the 2025-26 state budget, is expected to come up across 4,300-odd acres of coastal wetlands between East Coast Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road. The Water Resources Department (WRD) has said the project will augment supply to southern Chennai and help mitigate flooding in peri-urban pockets.
WRD officials told TNIE that the natural topography, with a current average bed level of (+) 0.35 m and a planned Full Reservoir Level of (+) 3 m, makes it the only feasible storage site in the sub-basin. The site justification documents submitted by WRD also describe the basin as the only remaining location capable of large-scale freshwater storage in southern Chennai. Chief Minister M K Stalin is likely to lay the foundation stone for the project on Monday.