The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Master plan work for eco-restoration of Adyar estuary begins

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Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Master plan work for eco-restoration of Adyar estuary begins

Special Correspondent

“Eminent citizens” turn up for stakeholder consultations

Photo: V.Ganesan

The essential part: Stopping pollution is the integral part of the eco-restoration of the Adyar River. —

CHENNAI: The Adyar Poonga Trust started preparing its master plan for the eco-restoration of the Adyar estuary with a consultation programme that began on Tuesday. Only 20 specially invited “eminent citizens,” turned up at the first phase of stakeholder consultations.

Participants agreed on the need to clean up the river and estuary, stopping pollution caused by untreated sewage, open defecation and construction debris. They disagreed on the construction of a road bridge across the mouth of the estuary, whether to evict or co-opt slum-dwellers along the banks, and on ways to commercialise the project.

Representatives of environmental groups and academic and social institutions along the estuary were part of the discussions hosted by IL&FS Ecosmart, an advisory firm which has been hired to prepare the Master Plan .

Missing were the representatives of people actually living around the estuary, whether in unauthorised tenements or apartment buildings. The Civic, Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG) activists left the consultations an hour into the proceedings. “We didn’t want to be co-opted into premature comments there without holding discussions of our own with civil society representatives,” said CAG’s Amritha Kasturirangan.

IL&FS Ecosmart’s Vijay Joshi explained that slum-dwellers were being consulted through a different method.

“Their world view is dominated by their fight for existence, so engaging them in this kind of holistic discussion becomes difficult,” he explained. Instead, “targeted discussions” are being conducted by professionals, who have been interacting with all such people downstream of the Kotturpuram Bridge on issues such as waste collection, water supply and sanitary facilities they need, he said.

Some participants felt that evicting these people would be the first step to cleaning up the area. “If you let them stay there, they will just expand and build concrete structures and take over the area and continue to pollute it,” said A.M. Malathi of Exnora. However, Satyam’s Venkatesh Chandrasekaran felt that gated communities and apartment complexes along the river pollute it more than slum dwellers.

“We will discuss with the government to stop the proliferation of new slums,” he said, adding that “if it is feasible,” some existing slums could be rehabilitated. Sanitary facilities must be provided for the existing slums, he said.

Another area of disagreement was a proposal to build a road bridge across the estuary to connect Srinivasapuram with Elliots Beach. “It would improve traffic management,” said M. Rajendran, a trustee of MGR Janaki College. “It will ruin the serenity and the pristine nature of the beach,” countered a Theosophical Society representative.

Other ideas discussed include plans to adapt the old Adyar bridge into a public space with a boardwalk, viewing gallery and infotainment area, build footpaths and cycling paths along the banks of the river, open nurseries or urban farms along the banks, plant mangroves to reverse erosion, operate river cruises, overhaul the sewage system, deal with plastics, e-waste and biomedical waste, stop film-shooting at Foreshore Estate, deepen the estuary through desilting, co-opt slum-dwellers by giving them the task of desilting and conduct public awareness programmes.

Further consultations would be held with technical experts on August 25 and with government agencies on August 29. The final draft Master Plan would be presented for consultations with the general public within two months, said Dr. Joshi.

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