CHENNAI: An independent study has warned that the proposed 127-acre Rs 261-crore Global Sports City at Semmencherry is located within the Pallikaranai flood management system and will affect 1.24 lakh residents around the region during the monsoon.
The study, carried out by the Uvakai Research Foundation, said the proposed site is not an isolated parcel of land but a part of the Pallikaranai flood management system. According to the report, the site functions as a natural runoff convergence corridor, temporary flood storage landscape and drainage pathway receiving stormwater from 271 upstream water bodies across a 170.92 sq.km catchment.
Using India Meteorological Department rainfall data from 1901 to 2021, the research team estimated that the catchment area can generate about 1.18 TMC of runoff during an average November rainfall. During an event similar to the 2015 Chennai floods, runoff could rise to 1.61 TMC, requiring an average discharge of nearly 18,600 cusecs.
The report also pointed out that part of the proposed site falls within a one-kilometre influence zone of the Pallikaranai marshland, where the National Green Tribunal has banned any construction. It further stated that more than 31,000 housing units, including 25,540 resettlement homes and several large private residential townships with an estimated population of 1.24 lakh, depend on the uninterrupted functioning of Pallikaranai drainage system.
The assessment identifies Guindy Race Course as an alternate site for the project. Following the government’s recovery of most of the property from the Madras Race Club, the site offers several strategic advantages.
It offers 148 acres of government-controlled land,extensive flat open terrain at 12 metres above mean sea level, good multimodal connectivity, proximity to the existing Velachery Aquatic Complex, and has a much lower flood risk.
The report has demanded the government to carry out an independent assessment of alternative sites, make all technical reports public and ensure transparent public consultation before finalising the location.
While the CMDA sources said that the Global Sports City project and other high cost projects will be dropped due to shortage of funds, CMDA member secretary Rahul Nadh was not available for a comment.