CHENNAI: The southern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday flagged concerns over a real estate project bordering Madambakkam Lake. It had received a private complaint on the matter.
The bench, consisting of judicial member Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member K Satyagopal, directed the state government pleader D Shanmuganathan to verify whether the project secured all approvals and if so, the ground on which the approvals were granted. “We want to know whether the mandatory buffer is maintained or not. Looking at the photographs, it doesn’t look like it,” the bench said.
The lake has filled to its brim following the recent monsoon. When contacted, a representative of Ocean Lifespaces Private Limited, which is developing the project, measuring 14.5 acres, said they have received planning permission from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and were in the process of obtaining Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) registration.
“We obtained all the statutory approvals and the mandatory buffer of 3 metres from the lake is also incorporated in the layout design,” the representative said. However, a local resident and environmentalist K Raju alleged that the 3-metre mandatory buffer was not ensured.