AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has accused the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government of improperly allowing private real estate development on the Pallikaranai marshland, a protected Ramsar wetland in Chennai.Palaniswami claims the action could worsen Chennai’s flood risk and destroy a vital environmental resource.
The proposed project, worth around ₹2,000 crore, would build 1,250 high-end apartments on nearly 15 acres of land claimed to be inside or adjacent to the marshland. Although the Pallikaranai wetland was officially notified as a Ramsar site in 2022, restricting construction within one kilometer of the area, environmental activists say authorities wrongly gave clearances by misrepresenting the land’s boundaries.
The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) fast-tracked legal permissions despite objections about the marsh’s protected status.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has since issued an order freezing all new building and planning approvals around the marshland until a scientific demarcation is completed.
Palaniswami vows that a future AIADMK government would order an official inquiry and take legal action against those responsible for the alleged violations.