NGT bars development exercise round Pallikaranai Marshland till a scientific research is carried out

The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered a halt on all development exercise inside one kilometre of the Pallikaranai Marshland, till a complete scientific research figuring out the wetland’s zone of affect is accomplished.

The order was issued in a suo motu case taken up by the bench primarily based on media experiences of development and landfilling actions going down contained in the Perumbakkam wetland, which is hydrologically linked to the bigger Pallikaranai Marsh system.

The bench, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and professional member Prashant Gargava, famous that the land in query, notably Survey No. 286 in Perumbakkam village, lies simply 246 metres from the boundary of the Pallikaranai Marsh, which was designated as a Ramsar Site in 2022. It held that any unauthorised exercise on this neighborhood may have an effect on pure water inflows, disrupt the marsh’s ecological functioning, and improve flood threat for surrounding residential areas.

The non-public developer concerned, M/s Grande City Development Company LLP, argued the positioning falls below a “Primary Residential Use Zone” as per Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority’s (CMDA) grasp plan, and that no everlasting street was laid — solely momentary levelling utilizing scrap materials to facilitate a land survey. 

However, the bench noticed that land-use classification doesn’t override the environmental sensitivity of the world, notably when its position in flood mitigation is properly established.

The Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority (TNSWA) has provisionally marked a one-kilometre buffer because the marshland’s zone of affect, utilizing topographical and hydrological modelling instruments. 

The Integrated Management Plan (IMP), which is able to formalise this zone, is at present being revised. The bench directed TNSWA, the Water Resources Department, and the CMDA to coordinate and expedite completion of the plan.

It ordered that till the IMP is finalised and the zone of affect formally notified, no new planning permissions, approvals, or sanctions ought to be granted for any undertaking which will alter the character of the Pallikaranai Marshland or its adjoining hydrological methods.