CHENNAI: The NGO Arappor Iyakkam, in a complaint to Chief Minister M K Stalin, has alleged that environmental clearance and other approvals for construction have been granted to a prominent realty firm to build 1,250 apartment units on a plot falling inside the protected Ramsar site of the Pallikaranai marshland, as designated by the state wetland authority.
The NGO’s allegations pertain to the permission given to the project named Brigade Morgan Heights coming up on the Perumbakkam main road. When contacted, a spokesperson for Brigade Enterprises, which is constructing the project, said that the project has all necessary permissions and that statutory clearances have been obtained from relevant authorities.
“The Brigade Group has adhered to all applicable environmental regulations and project approval was granted only after a detailed site assessment by the concerned authorities. It is important to note that any Brigade project is taken forward only after the requisite approvals are obtained in compliance with applicable laws,” the spokesperson said.
The firm began the process of applying for environmental clearance in August 2022, three months after 1,247 hectares of Pallikaranai marshland was notified as a Ramsar site. Construction inside a designated Ramsar site is barred under Section 4 of Wetland Conservation and Management Rules, 2017.
The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) issued environmental clearance for the project on January 20, 2025, and the CMDA gave its nod for the plan on January 23, 2025.
In a presser on Thursday, Arappor Iyakkam said that the 14.7-acre plot of the project falls inside the marshland and that the firm had failed to declare this while applying for clearance.
“The firm said that the plot is 1.28km away from the marshland. Later, a forest department report (which was also false) said that it was 65m away from the marshland. Authorities approved the project without factual verification,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam.
The NGO has sought immediate cancellation of the environmental clearance and building plan approval, and demanded action against public servants and others responsible for providing such approvals.
Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary (environment, forests and climate change), could not be reached for comments.
