Chennai: A joint committee report submitted before the southern bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said the new ash pipeline being built for North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS) stage-3 in Ennore over Kosasthalaiyar river does not have mandatory statutory clearances.
The report has stated that the fly ash generated from Stages 1 and 2 of the North Chennai Ennore Thermal Power Station (NCTPS) has greatly reduced the volume of water flowing to the sea from the Buckingham Canal and its backwaters. The waterbodies had become pools of ash, the report said.
According to the committee, although the leakage of fly ash was not noticed during an on-site inspection, the accumulation persisted in the backwaters and the Buckingham Canal.
It added: ‘This is due to the leakage of ash slurry from ageing pipes and due to plants directly discharging the slurry into waterbodies. Livelihood of fisherfolk has been affected, and this has led to the abatement of fishing activities. Mangrove patches have vanished due to the sedimentation of fly ash deposits.’
An Ennore-based fisherman R Ravimaran had filed a petition with NGT, alleging that TANGEDCO’s old leaking ash pipelines and the new construction has polluted the river beyond use, hampering livelihood of hundreds of fishermen.