7 months ago
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The Madras High Court, connected Friday (October 31, 2025), directed existent property developer Brigade Enterprises Limited not to proceed with the construction enactment astatine its Pallikaranai task successful Chennai until November 12 since the Tamil Nadu authorities reported that the ‘ground truthing’ workout for fixing the boundaries of the 1,248-hectare Ramsar wetland tract would get concluded wrong a fortnight.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan passed the interim bid connected a nationalist involvement litigation (PIL) petition filed by AIADMK ineligible helping office-bearer J. Brezhnev. The petitioner had urged the tribunal to quash a gathering program support granted by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to Brigade connected January 23 this year.
Senior counsel V. Raghavachari, representing the petitioner, contended it was amerciable to conception precocious emergence residential apartments connected a onshore falling wrong the prohibited portion of the Pallikaranai marsh which had been declared arsenic a wetland of planetary value successful accordance with an intergovernmental pact adopted astatine a normal held astatine the Iranian metropolis of Ramsar successful 1971.
On the different hand, Advocate General P.S. Raman contended the Pallikaranai marsh reserve wood was dispersed implicit an grade of 698 hectares which remains nether the power of the wood department. Apart from this, the authorities had to delineate an further country of astir 550 hectares and the process of identifying the ‘zone of influence’ through, ‘ground truthing,’ was underway, helium said.
Explaining the process of ‘ground truthing,’ helium said, it is utilized to comparison the accusation collected from outer images with the tract observations and measurements taken done connected tract inspections. He said, the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management had undertaken the process astatine Pallikaranai since November 2024 and it was expected to beryllium completed wrong 2 weeks.
Further, stating the onshore connected which Brigade had planned its existent property task mightiness oregon mightiness not get included successful the last Ramsar tract of 1,248 hectares, the A-G said, the CMDA had granted the gathering program support astir 10 months agone since the spot remained to beryllium a backstage ‘patta’ onshore arsenic connected day and the builder had obtained situation clearance excessively for its project.
The A-G said, the situation clearance had been granted by the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) which was a assemblage constituted by the Centre successful consultation with the State government. He said, the SEIAA had inspected the onshore successful question earlier granting situation clearance and lone thereafter, the CMDA had approved the gathering plan.
Mr. Raman said, the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal excessively were seized of cases related to delineation of Ramsar tract boundaries for the Pallikaranai marsh. The apical tribunal had connected August 19 directed the State authorities to implicit the ‘ground truthing’ workout wrong 2 months. Similarly, the NGT had besides directed the authorities to expedite the process, helium added.
Land successful quality not a wetland: Brigade Enterprises
On his part, elder counsel C. Manishankar, representing Brigade Enterprises, asserted that the onshore connected which his lawsuit had projected to physique precocious emergence residential apartments was a adust onshore and not a wetland arsenic claimed by the PIL petitioner. He said, the patta (revenue grounds relating to immovable spot ownership) for the onshore successful question had been issued mode backmost successful the 1980s.
He besides told the tribunal the existent property developer had to hold for 17 months to get the support and that it was not granted overnight. Nevertheless, erstwhile the judges insisted that nary harm beryllium caused to the onshore until they perceive the lawsuit adjacent connected November 12, Mr. Manishankar said: “Certainly MiLords, it is successful our ain involvement too, that we bash not proceed further.”
