Madras High Court halts construction of housing project near Pallikaranai Marsh
The Madras High Court has restrained the construction of a large multi-storeyed residential complex comprising 1,400 housing units near the ecologically fragile Pallikaranai Marsh, a wetland designated as a Ramsar site of international importance, following concerns of environmental violations and flood risks.
The interim order was issued by a division bench of Chief Justice MM Srivatsava and Justice Arul Murugan while hearing a public interest litigation filed by AIADMK legal wing functionary
J Brezhnev, who sought to revoke the approval for the project and requested a ban on any new construction within a one-kilometre radius of the Pallikaranai marsh.
The petitioner alleged that the project had been cleared unlawfully in an area adjoining the marsh, which is under the Central Government’s Ramsar protection framework and plays a crucial role in flood control, biodiversity, and groundwater recharge. He argued that the State Government and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had exceeded their powers by permitting the project in a zone that should fall under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The petition also noted that the marshland has already been damaged by garbage dumping and unregulated real estate activity.