Anbumani alleges ‘massive scam’ in Pallikaranai marshland projects

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday accused officials of attempting to dilute safeguards for the Pallikaranai marshland to favour real estate developers, alleging that a “massive scam” was unfolding around the wetland.

He urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to intervene and stop projects that could damage the marshland and its natural drainage channels.

Questioning the construction of a road and a pedestrian walkway within the marshland, Dr. Anbumani demanded that the government identify the officials who approved the project, which he said was funded through a ₹21.5-crore World Bank loan.

He alleged that a bund had been raised across the wetland and a walking track laid on it with polished granite and tiles.

“Who is going to walk there? Will birds walk there?” he said, adding that the bund, which was about 10 feet high, could obstruct the movement of water between sections of the wetland. The Forest Minister had reportedly said the bund was only 1.5 feet high, he said, and urged the Minister to verify in person.

Dr. Anbumani said the Pallikaranai marshland had shrunk from around 15,000 acres a century ago to about 2,000 acres today. “If we destroy the protection provided by Pallikaranai, the city could witness floods worse that the one it witnessed in 2015,” he said. 

Referring to directions issued by the Supreme Court in 2024 and in July this year, he said the State had failed to notify the wetlands despite being asked to complete the exercise.

He also questioned the functioning of the Tamil Nadu Wetland Authority, which was constituted in 2018 and reconstituted in 2024. “From 2024 till today, not even a single meeting has been held,” he alleged.

Dr. Anbumani alleged that the government was now seeking to reduce the zone of influence (ZoI) through proceedings before the Madras High Court. According to him, the area originally marked as the ZoI was nearly 8,000 hectares, but officials were proposing to reduce it to around 300 hectares. 

“We are not against development, but destroying nature for development is wrong. If builders have land and pattas, let them build. But first, map the marshland and its drainage channels separately, to avoid blocking the inflow of water from the 65 lakes and waterbodies,” Dr. Anbumani said.

Accusing “senior officials” of misleading the government and the courts, he said, “If the Chief Minister does not directly intervene in the issue, people will talk about this as the biggest corruption during his tenure.”

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.