CHENNAI: Representatives of 16 fishing villages in Chengalpattu district, from Kanathur Reddikuppam to Kokkilimedu, have strongly opposed the proposed Kovalam–Mahabalipuram reservoir project, warning that it threatens traditional fishing livelihoods, fragile coastal wetlands and key provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) framework.
At a consultation meeting held at the Thiruporur Block Development Office on Sunday, the fishing community submitted a formal representation to TM Anbarasan, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, objecting to the project. They said the plan would dismantle “paadu rights," customary fishing grounds used for generations, and irreversibly alter the ecological character of brackish-water backwaters and salt marshes.
“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 major concern flagged by the villages was the proposed diversion of the Buckingham Canal, which they described as a critical drainage and ecological corridor. According to the community, rerouting the canal could obstruct monsoon drainage, worsen flooding in low-lying habitations and sever the natural hydrological link between the backwaters and the sea. Such changes, they warned, could trigger the collapse of salt marshes and brackish ecosystems that sustain fisheries.
The fishermen also questioned the legal validity of the CRZ clearance granted by the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority on December 3, 2025. They alleged that active fishing grounds had been misrepresented as “vacant land” to secure approval and claimed the project failed to map and record traditional fishing zones, as mandated under the CRZ Notification, 2019.
Beyond livelihood concerns, the villages cautioned against 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 also affect indigenous Irular communities in the region.
The proposed drinking water reservoir, announced in the 2025–26 State Budget, is planned across about 4,300 acres of coastal wetlands between East Coast Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road. The Water Resources Department has said the project will augment water supply to southern Chennai and help mitigate flooding in peri-urban areas.
Chief Minister MK Stalin is likely to lay the foundation stone for the project on Monday.