Government Apathy

The government appointed studies have all ignored the plight of the wetlands and have carefully overlooked the benefits of these storehouses of biodiversity. In yet another of the series of actions, almost 2000 slum dwellers from the canal banks near Mylapore were relocated here with land records as also with water and electricity connections. Again no thought was paid to the cause of the wetlands. Apart from the Mass Rapid transit system that has taken up a large part on the northern extremes, various land sharks have had a free run under the aegis of a callous administration.In the year 1995, National Energy Research Institute (NEERI) Nagpur prepared a study that recommended the construction of a Reservoir.Chandrasekaran(1998) reported the potential of the South Chennai Aquifer. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the Exnora International prepared reports about the threat to the wetlands, with the Exnora concentrating on the biotic components of the region in detail, which has been the base for the present study.The recent floods have only made the situation grave for the people involved as the settlers are left with water logged islands and the Government with the only option of regularising existent structures and adhering to the new guidelines in future.

Violation of the Ramsar Convention norms

The following are the norms that are laid down by the Ramsar convention, which every signatory (including India) has to abide by.-Each Contracting Party shall promote the conservation of wetlands and waterfowl by establishing nature reserves on wetlands, whether they are included in the List or not, and provide adequately for their wardening.-The Contracting Parties shall encourage research and the exchange of data and publications regarding wetlands and their flora and fauna. However, the disheartening part is that none of the norms are followed by the Government. This is imperative because, a signatory as India should already have paid more attention and resorted to a conscious approach towards the handling of the sensitive wetlands.

SOUTH CHENNAI WETLANDS

Location: -The study area is located in the south of the city of Chennai, and falls in the two districts of Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram. The approximate position of the study area is between 80.09’N to 80.15’N and 12.55’E to 12.59’E. The Pallikaranai Marsh is approximately 15 km south of the heart of the city and approximately 4 km of Chennai Boundary within the Chennai Metropolitan Area Boundary. Geology: -The region demonstrates an overall flat topography with a gentle gradient to the south. It is primarily a marsh type of wetland. There are a large number of water tanks that are interlinked to each other by the seasonal runoff in the region. The Vellacheri part of the wetland is the origin of the runoff in the north, a number of channels regulate the flow of water in the region. The slope is towards the south and it drains the water from the northern side in Vellacheri and the hills on the west and south west of Nanmangalam, Pallavaram and St. Thomas Mount towards the southern extremes as which finally find their way towards the Kovalam Creek.The run-off collects in the depressed marsh, and flows downward in to the Oggiyanmaduvu, discharges into the Buckingham Canal and reaches Bay of Bengal at Kovalam. If the sandbar that forms at the mouth of the Kovalam Estuary is not breached regularly, the region faces imminent flooding. The tides during the high tide season run in till Sholinganallur (NEERI 1998). The study area runs south from Velacheri till Medavakkam in south, Okkiyam thoraipakkam on the southeast and thereafter runs parallel to the coast along the New Mahabalipuram Road till Taramani, through Perungudi and , Sheevaram.

Recharge: Rainfall recharge is the main source of aquifer replenishment. The water level rises during the Northeast monsoon period in the months of October to December. The recharge potential of the region is immense as the region is proximate to the South Chennai Aquifer that runs parallel to it along the Old Mahabalipuram Road in between the Buckingham Canal and the Coast. It originates from south of Thruvanmiyur and extends till the Kovalam Creek on the South. The entire region is made up of the weathered bed rock (Charnokite) basement (V.Subramanium, 1995).

Climate: The climate is clearly divided in to pre and post monsoon. The southwest monsoon prevails from July to September and the northeast monsoon is active during November, December and January. The average rainfall during the monsoon is 340 mm, which is about 25 percent of the annual average. The highest rainfall amount was recorded in November 1976. Temperature varies seasonally with summer values ranging from 35 to 42 degree Celsius and winter maximum ranging from 25 to 34 C degree Celsius.

Present state of the Wetlands

There are two major Solid waste disposal dumps in the region. The first is the large Perungudi Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of the Chennai Metro water and Sewage Supply Board (CMWSSB), which has the capacity of handling 45 Million Liters a day (MLD) of Garbage. The other is the Alandur Municipality dump yard on the Velacheri- Medavakkam Road. It handles a garbage load of 80-100 tons a day. The garbage at the moment is being dumped into the dump yard which is largely a wetland and whose depth used to be almost 15 feet which has now been filled to a depth of 7 feet. Apart from this the Alandur Municipality Sewage Treatment Plant is also coming up within the Perungudi with an installed capacity of 25 MLD.

These dump yards are a major menace for the region as they profusely pollute the area by producing foul odour and attract stray dogs, birds and the burning of this causes respiratory problems to the local community and affects the biota of the region. Developmental works:-The other developmental activities that have spelled a doom for the wetlands are the relocation of the slums that the Govt. of Tamil Nadu has undertaken in a blatant flouting of norms laid down by the Chennai Master Plan. Similarly, the Mass Rapid Transit System whose massive Railway Station is coming up at the Northern extremity of the wetland in Vellachery is another huge encroacher. Large Scale land filling activities are under way in Taramani and Perungudi regions.