CHENNAI: The state government has initiated the claim settlement process for final notification of Pulicat bird sanctuary. The question remains whether 13 villages, currently falling within the sanctuary limits, will be included or excluded and this will have direct bearing on expansion of industrial projects, especially the contentious Adani-Kattupalli port.
The recent visit by Gautham Adani, chairman of Adani Group, to Chennai, has caused nervousness among the fisherfolk, who believe hurdles may get cleared for the port’s expansion by shrinking the sanctuary’s boundary.
Tiruvallur collector initiated the claim process by issuing the notification on February 29 and an advertisement was published in a Tamil daily on March 3. People were asked to submit the claims within two months. The deadline was May 29.
Although a group of environmentalists and fishermen leaders submitted a written request to Tiruvallur collector and chief wildlife warden seeking extension, it was not considered.
When contacted, a senior official at the Tiruvallur collectorate told TNIE that the office has kept its door open to accept fresh claims even after the deadline ended.
So far, only a handful of individual claims and about three representations from fishermen groups concerning community rights were received, sources said. Apart from this, all the 13 villages sent representations to the collector and forest department requesting them not to exclude the villages from sanctuary’s limits and reduce the boundary. Villages also requested the forest department to allow continuation of their rights.
As per the official records available with TNIE, the initial notification for declaration of Pulicat bird sanctuary was issued on September 22, 1980, under section 18 of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA). The current area of the sanctuary is 15,367 hectares, which includes the areas covered by 13 villages.
As per the Act, the time-limit to complete the settlement of claims and other proceedings is two years from the date of notification of declaration of sanctuary under section 18. But, it was not done by the state government for 44 years.
Meanwhile, the number of people getting settled in these 13 villages went up multifold. Some have patta for the land and some don’t. Section 19 of WPA deals with bar of accrual of rights, which means after the issue of a notification under section 18, no right shall be acquired over the land within the limits of the area specified in such notification, except by succession, testamentary or intestate.
Tiruvallur collectorate officials said this was the trickiest part. “We are holding consultation with the fisheries department and forest department to take a final call on whether to include the 13 villages within the sanctuary or exclude them by marking the village boundary as the sanctuary boundary.”
However, activist K Saravanan said the government cannot use this as an excuse to reduce the sanctuary’s boundary and indirectly help ports or other industries to expand. “Some of the settlers after 1980 in these 13 villages are people who were sent from Sriharikota by the government. They were not given patta. The Tamil Nadu government wasted 44 years. People can’t be held responsible for that. Under section 24(C) of WPA, the government can allow, in consultation with the chief wildlife warden, the continuation of any right of any person in or over any land within the limits of the sanctuary.”
M Yuvan, Chennai-based environmentalist, said Pulicat is hydrologically and ecologically one with the Ennore creek, backwaters and Kosasthalaiyar river and all these parts of the river basin need utmost protection.
“Migratory and water birds use this entire region as a habitat. Ideally, the whole watershed and the bird habitat should be protected and brought under the conservation plan. Reducing the sanctuary boundary will allow detrimental industrial projects to erode the lagoon sand bar, and wipe out the entire hydrology of Pulicat,” he said.
Several bird species found outside sanctuary area
TNIE took part in an aerial survey with the support of the local community in April on the eastern coast side of the sanctuary and found over 2,000 painted storks, flamingos and other birds in Thangal Perungulam, Karungali and Ebrahampurm revenue villages outside the sanctuary. This indicates extension of vital bird habitats powered by the Pulicat lake’s contiguous hydrology outside the existing administrative sanctuary limits. Experts say it would be crucial to include these eastside revenue villages and other revenue villages inhabiting birds into the boundary after a detailed bird survey.