Petro company builds road across Kosasthalaiyar river

Chennai: In a deliberate move that depletes the groundwater recharge at Tiruvallur, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) is constructing an approach road across the Kosasthalaiyar River. The depletion of groundwater aquifers at Tiruvallur will have a ripple effect on Chennai city, which sources a lot of water from the water bodies in Tiruvallur. The temporary road in the Sathangadu village across the Buckingham Canal is a barrier as it obstructs the surplus water flow from Red Hills Reservoir to the Bay of Bengal through Ennore Creek. Though CPCL has obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from PWD, it is unfortunate that the nodal agency, Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) is not in the picture, in granting the CRZ clearance. There is no record in the minutes of TNSCZMA on the same.

According to the NOC by PWD, which Deccan Chronicle accessed, the length and width of the temporary approach road alongside the Ennore-Manali Expressway is 25 metres and 14 metres respectively. CPCL has cited the reason for the construction of a pathway for ‘DHDS Reactor Transportation’ across the North Buckingham Canal near Thiyagi Sathiyamoorthi Nagar and consented to the 'rules' of PWD. The PWD has issued NOC for inundation point of view, after stating that the department is not responsible for the structural aspects of the road project. Heaps of construction debris blocks the river, in violation of the PWD’s statement, which objected to the dumping of blocking materials across the river.

A senior official from the Tiruvottiyur Taluk Office told Deccan Chronicle that the road would exist for the next 15 days till the transportation work by CPCL is completed. “As the existing bridge is weak, the temporary road is laid,” the official said. Condemning the environmental violation, activist, Nithyanand Jayaraman said, “Law has no exemption for a permanent or temporary structure. It is due to the Ennore Creek, that the Araniyar Kosasthalaiyar basin is not salty. Any damage to this hypersensitive area will have a drastic effect on the ground water aquifers.”  “NOC from PWD is a prerequisite to obtaining Coastal Regulatory Zone. It cannot be considered as a grant to construct a road,” said Pooja Kumar of Coastal Resource Centre.