CHENNAI: DMK has moved the Madras High Court seeking to stall the proposed construction of a Rs 1,200-crore new secretariat complex at Foreshore Estatethe project.
The petition seeks to quash the September 8, 2026 government order granting “in-principle approval” for the project on 25.55 acres, with a proposed built-up area of around 20 lakh sq ft.
Former Mylapore MLA and petitioner Dha Velu said the project would affect fishing families and marine species as the proposed site falls under Coastal Regulation Zone-II (CRZ-II). He also claimed that the construction would affect the road safety of thousands of schoolchildren and residents and the livelihood of traditional fishing communities in nine coastal villages.
The petition said the site is part of a “fragile coastal ecosystem” and a nesting ground for Olive Ridley sea turtles.
In his petition, Velu alleged that the government order did not refer to any report, opinion or clearance from the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority, Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department, Greater Chennai Traffic Police or Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.
He also alleged that no traffic impact study or environmental impact assessment had been conducted. The government, he claimed, had not examined alternative sites or conducted topographic, land-use, traffic, parking, street-vending or landscape studies, or obtained recommendations from competent authorities.
The petition said the project would affect 1,500 fishing families. It noted that more than 2,000 tenements exist in the area, including around 1,356 Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board tenements at Srinivasapuram that are in a dilapidated condition, apart from 2,000 huts.
Velu said that under paragraph 4(d) of the 2011 CRZ notification, construction projects in CRZ-II involving a built-up area of more than 20,000 sq m are required to be considered under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. He said prior recommendation of the Coastal Zone Management Authority was essential.
The petitioner also said the project could affect Olive Ridley nesting grounds along the Chennai coast. According to the petition, the turtles nest on the coast at night between January and April every year, and around 10,000 eggs were collected along the Marina coast, of which 8,834 hatchlings were released into the sea.
