We don't need one more government complex do we?  Not in Pallikarani for sure.



Pallikaranai marshland: Concern over wetland development - The Hindu

Pallikaranai marshland: Concern over wetland development

K. Manikandan

THE HINDU
Officials say a government complex will come up on 11 acres, classified
as ‘tharisu’ (unassessed dry waste) land, on property that belongs to
the revenue department — Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

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PWD conducted soil tests near Pallikaranai marsh, recently

Environmentalists are up in arms against the public
works department (PWD) for conducting soil tests in Sholinganallur, near
the Pallikaranai marshland, for the construction of a complex to house
government offices.

According to members of Nature
Trust, PWD has begun testing soil near Perumbakkam Lake opposite the
special economic zone (SEZ) on Perumbakkam Main Road, close to
Sholinganallur intersection.

“Many NGOs have been
fighting for several years, urging the State government to protect
whatever is left of the southern-most corner of Pallikaranai marshland.
Perumbakkam wetland serves as a temporary home to several migratory and
rare birds,” says K.V.R.K. Thirunaran of Nature Trust.

However,
officials say they are not destroying the protected wetland and that
the government complex will come up on 11 acres of land classified as
‘tharisu’ (unassessed dry waste) land, part of 70 hectares that belong
to the revenue department.

Even the 377 acres, on
which the SEZ located on the opposite side stands, belongs to the same
classification. Only rainwater stagnates there during the monsoon and it
is not part of the marshland, says a PWD official. The soil tests were
taken up only after a government circular was issued, he says.

An
initial estimated amount of Rs. 2 crore has been allotted for
constructing the building that will house the office of the
Sholinganallur tahsildar (now functioning from a rented building), a
sub-treasury and other government offices.

There is
hardly any vacant plot along Rajiv Gandhi Salai (IT corridor) for
constructing additional school buildings, say officials. For instance,
the Panchayat Union Primary School in Perungudi was recently upgraded to
a middle school, but there is no space to build any structures further.

A parental goodbye to the Valley

Our last visit to the Valley, home to our son these last two years, but a connection that began in the Deepavali of 2010.

A place we instantly fell in love with as a family, a place where everytime we visited my faith in humanity was recharged, a place where gentle positive energy flowed. 

Scrochingly hot and dry, the trees stood like skeletons.  Did they miss the sound of the children I wondered, or did they heave a collective sigh of relief as peace and quiet descended on the campus?! The siris seemed to enjoy the weather, or did its roots have a secret supply of water? The birds had nowhere to hide, and even the shy white browed bulbuls were exposed. And then I saw this Jamun tree (Syzgium cumini) full of leaf and flower! A Tickell's Blue flitted about in this oasis of green, as also a Chloropsis! The beautiful flowers The weaver ants were busy colonising a tree..... ...while the Jacaranda near the dining hall was in full bloom.... ....and a whole family of hoopoes hunted for lunch. Spied a pair of Malkohas at the guesthouse.The owlets were there too, on the copper pod tree near the senior school.

And then we left, our connection as parents done with.

But we will be back I am sure, to this place where, quietly and without fuss, experiments in education and sustainable living go on, and where I learnt to let go and watch.