CHENNAI: The expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the Union environment ministry will be deciding on granting Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance to Kalaignar Pen Monument at the Marina coast during the 325th meeting of EAC for projects related to CRZ on April 17.
The 14-member committee, chaired by marine ecologist Deepak Arun Apte and other members including scientists like MV Ramana Murthy, director of Chennai-based National Centre for Coastal Research and Deep Ocean Mission, Ministry of Earth Sciences, will meet through video conferencing in the wake of a fresh spike in Covid-19 cases.
As per the meeting agenda, a total of six proposals will be appraised, including the DMK government’s pet project building a 42m tall pen monument surrounded by landscaped gardens inside the Bay of Bengal, about 360m from the Marina beach in remembrance of Dravidian stalwart and former CM MK Karunanidhi.
The entire approvals process for the project is fast-tracked both at the state and central levels. The environmentalists, who have been opposing the project saying the monument sits amid rich fishing grounds of local communities, say the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority recommended the project on April 6 and within a week it is listed before the EAC for appraisal, which is usually not the case with other coastal projects.
The EAC has asked the State Public Works Department to submit all the documents such as Form-1, Pre-feasibility report, approval from the concerned State Zone Management Authority, Environment Impact Assessment Report, queries subsequently raised by the Ministry, if any, and para-wise comments thereto etc., in accordance with CRZ Notification, 2011 to the chairman/members of the committee and Union environment ministry.
PWD officials told TNIE all the due procedures have been complied and if the CRZ approval is received the work would commence by June. While recommending the ministry for giving CRZ clearance for the project, Deepak S Bilgi, member secretary of Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority, imposed 17 conditions that PWD should comply with which included no disturbance in the CRZ-1A area.