The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Elevated expressway: plea to stop funding

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Friday, Mar 25, 2011
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Elevated expressway: plea to stop funding

Staff Reporter

“Feasibility report based on fraudulent claims of having consulted the public''

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

Kalakshetra Foundation director Leela Samson and C.V.K. Maithreya of the Theosophical Order of Service at a press conference in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI: Slamming the Highways Department for adopting “fraudulent means” to push through the Elevated Beach Expressway project, fisher-folk and representatives of various organisations here on Thursday appealed to the government to immediately halt further funding to the consultant, Wilbur Smith Associates, to prepare a Detailed Project Report.

Addressing a press conference, Nityanand Jayaraman of the Save Chennai Beaches Campaign said the feasibility report that has already been completed was based on fraudulent claims of having consulted the public.

“Not even one fisherman was consulted in the 14 fishing villages that will be affected by the project. The entire process of public consultation has been fabricated in the report and the Rs.25 lakh spent on it is a waste of public money.”

What prompted the current attack on the project was a letter written by the Chief Engineer, Highways, Alandur, to the Secretary, Highways Department, offering clarifications to public concerns, and seeking release of Rs. 5 crore to pay Wilbur Smith Associates to prepare a Detailed Project Report.

Quoting from the letter which has been accessed through RTI, representatives of institutions such as Kalakshetra and the Theosophical Society said that the Chief Engineer's response sidesteps key issues, makes false claims and trivialises concerns about people's fundamental rights to clean air, and livelihood with dignity.

C.V.K. Maithreya of the Theosophical Order of Service lashed out at the letter's justification of the project by claiming that fishermen will “carry on with their daily life beneath the elevated structure.” “What contempt for your own fellow citizens,” he asked.

Stressing that the Japanese tsunami should be a lesson for those advocating rapid development along the coast, he said that there are innumerable ways to deal with traffic and the lack of public consultation shows “alternatives were not looked into.”

Kalakshetra Foundation director Leela Samson said that though preliminary drawings show that the superstructure would extend into the Kalakshetra compound and could affect some hostel buildings, no consultation was ever held. “Even now, there has been no official word on the alignment. If a highway comes here, it is going to be daytime for us all the time because of the lights.”

Parthasarathy, president of the Urur Kuppam panchayat, said all 14 fishing villages along the coast would soon adopt a resolution to vote for a candidate who opposes the project. “This is about our livelihood. We will make it an election issue,” he said.

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