CHENNAI: The systematic destruction of the Pallikaranai
wetland came to light with the forest department’s recent discovery that the actual marsh is buried 10 feet beneath construction debris. The department has put earthmovers at work on the portion of the wetlands abutting
Velachery Main Road over the past week to excavate the debris.
“We had to sink pits at five different points on the marsh and, to our surprise, we found debris to a depth of 10 feet and more,” said a
forest department official.
Around 130 hectares of wetland abutting Velachery Main Road was declared a reserve forest area by the state government in 2013, before which the site was a dumping ground for construction debris and used by miscreants without hindrance from the city’s civic authorities.
The department has engaged a third party contractor to carry out the debris removal. “The presence of debris was impeding the water retention capacity of the wetland. We found stones, concrete pillars and lots of plastic waste,” said V Karunapriya,
conservator of forests, Chennai circle.
After the debris is removed, Karunapriya said, the forest department will expand the biodiversity of the wetland using funds sanctioned by the state in the recent budget. “Habitat types including mudflats and water pockets will be created without affecting the top soil,” she said.
However, conservationists wanted the forest department to supervise the project to avert damage to the fragile ecosystem. At least 166 different species of birds can be found in the portion where the project is underway.
“Though the general rule for marshlands is that it shouldn’t be tampered with, there is no baseline data available on how much debris has been dumped on this portion of the wetlands. The debris should be removed to maximise the wetland area but the forest department should avoid creating mudflats on top,” said Jayshree Vencatesan of Care Earth Trust, a biodiversity welfare organisation.
Forest officials added that dredging the wetland would help in flood water run-off during the monsoon but Vencatesan noted that the debris removal was more significant in terms of water storage. “Tanks upstream in neighbourhoods like Nanganallur and Adambakkam are drying up. So, upstream water would not flow into the marsh, which is why dredging is important,” she said.
