The State government on Thursday notified Wetlands Authority of Tamil Nadu under the Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules, 2017 notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. With Minister for Forests as its Chairperson, the Chief Secretary as its Vice-Chairperson, Secretaries from various departments, including Environment and Forests, Housing, Rural Development and Public Works, will be the ex-officio members alongside the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board Member Secretary. Professor and Director of Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Member Secretary of Tamil Nadu Bio-diversity State Board, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of the Regional Office of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change are the other ex-officio members.

Under clause (xvii) of the Rule 5(1) of the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, An expert each in wetland ecology, hydrology, fisheries, landscape planning and socio-economics have also been added as members. Experts Balaji Narasimhan of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Goplakrishnan, Director of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, R. Jaganathan of Department of Geography in University of Madras, L. Venkatachalam of Madras Institute of Development Studies in Chennai and Jayshree Vencatesan of Care Earth Trust are the other members.

The Chief Conservator of Forests would be the authority’s Member-Secretary. The State had in May 2016 constituted the State Wetlands Authority of Tamil Nadu.