I was on the beach last weekend, helping some youngsters clean up about a km of the beach near the mouth of the river, where the estuary meets the sea. This was organised by the SSTCN and the Lets Restore Our Beaches voluntary bodies.
This is where, if I'm not mistaken the elevated highway will come across the estuary, according to government plans, and there has been general anxiety about the government's plans among most of the city's citizens. The fishermen dont seem to want it, the residents dont want it, the environmentalists think its a completely batty idea, but no, the government is all gung-ho.
CRZ nod denied again for Elevated Expressway
A. Srivathsan
Chennai: For the second time, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has refused clearance for the elevated expressway from Chennai Port to Maduravoyal proposed by the Chennai Port Trust.
The Expert Appraisal Committee for Coastal Regulation Zone (Infrastructure Development and Miscellaneous Projects), convened a few weeks ago, scrutinised the project and did not recommend it for Costal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance.
This time, the Chennai Port Trust argued that the project is neither a National Highway nor an expressway but only a connecting road between the port and the existing National Highway. Hence, it claimed that the project is permissible under CRZ Notification, 1991.
However, the expert committee was not convinced and has asked Chennai Port Trust to explain the basis on which this project is now presented as a link road.
It has also directed the Port Trust to obtain a clear recommendation from the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) that the proposed link road will be permissible under CRZ Notification.
The four-lane elevated expressway running for a length of 19 km is proposed by the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways through National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It is to be partly constructed along the Cooum and partly over Poonamallee High Road at a cost of Rs.1,655 crore.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for this project in January 2009. About 34.58 ha of the proposed elevated road falls within the CRZ and of the 506 foundation pits proposed, 35 fall in the riverbed.
When this project was first submitted for CRZ clearance in May 2009, the expert committee refused clearance stating that part of the proposed expressway fell between High Tide and Low Tide Lines and it was against the recommendations of the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Management Authority. The proposal was retuned with the suggestion that it be revised.
I wonder if we can really celebrate.. Maybe I am being cynical, but politicians have a way of pushing through with what they want.. who cares for a few fishes and birds and fisherfolk and environmentalists??? There is too much money to be made !!!
ReplyDeleteOr do we actually celebrate the small victories ??? Maybe that is an approach to keep the enthu up.
Quite right, Sudha, I'm sure they are not going to give up trying to get this project through. As the news report says, they've already tried a couple of different "routes"!
ReplyDeleteBut everytime, they try and get stopped is a time to celebrate?!
And I think keep the protests going - it looks like the neutrino project in Mudumalai has been buried for good. But then, that was a proposal from the scientific community, this one is from the political establishment...quite a different kettle of fish.