When the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) returned to power in Tamil Nadu in 2021, after a gap of 10 years, it did so by capitalising on people's environmental anger. The DMK positioned itself as protectors of the environment, highlighting All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) complacency in sensitive environmental issues like the Neduvasal hydrocarbon project, the Thoothukudi Sterlite protests, and the Salem highway.
The public anger following the police firing in Thoothukudi that killed 13 protesters, the farmers' discontent over land acquisitions for the Salem Expressway and the Neduvasal protest, where residents opposed a project to extract oil and gas, were not merely fringe concerns but mass movements that were supported by the DMK.
In its 2021 election manifesto, the party backed up this action with environment and climate related promises including river conservation, tree plantation drives, forest conservation, introduction of CNG buses and an amendment to the Damage to Public Property Act.
Their manifesto also notably included points on flood control and mitigation, a committee for protecting farmers from climate related natural calamities and a similar setup for fishermen who are also prone to climate change related disasters.
Voters noticed and the party came to power with a landslide victory in Tamil Nadu.
And now, five years later, the coastal state sits on the frontlines of India's climate crisis. Tamil Nadu is becoming increasingly vulnerable to erratic monsoons and intensifying heatwaves. Extreme heat, droughts and floods are now recurring concerns.
So, it is time to ask: how has the party delivered upon its environmental promises?
It's hard to draw a clear line, especially given its glaring dichotomy with respect to environmental protection and Industrialisation. Take for instance the second airport for Chennai proposed at Parandur. Environmentalists are not without concerns over the land acquisition that mirrors the Salem Highway controversy. Or the PEN monument honoring the late DMK patriarch Kalaignar Karunanidhi, a towering proposal that violates Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms and spells doom to the coastal environment DMK posits to protect under its biodiversity banner.
The institutional picture
The DMK's most significant move came in 2022, a year after assuming power. The government set up the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company (TNGCC) and launched four flagship missions under it—the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission (TNCCM), Green Tamil Nadu Mission (GTM), Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission (TNWM), and Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission (TNCRM). The department of forest and environment was also renamed to include climate change.
"For the first time in India, they have institutionalised this through the Green Climate Company. Any government that follows must now continue it," says G Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, who sits on the Tamil Nadu Governing Council on Climate Change.
The party had already displayed its environmental seriousness earlier. In 2020, it became the first in India to form a dedicated Environmental Wing, with activist Karthikeya Sivasenapathy as its first general secretary.
These are notable changes. But institutions are only as strong as the coordination between them and that, experts say, is where the government has struggled most.
Biodiversity: A strong start
The government has notified 100 new Reserved Forests covering 135 sq. km, established India's first Dugong Conservation Reserve and Slender Loris Conservation Centre, and inaugurated the International Bird Centre at Marakkanam—another national first. Project Nilgiri Tahr and a Slender Loris Sanctuary have also been launched.
The standout initiative, however, is the AI-based elephant tracking system at Madukkarai, launched in 2024. According to Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary of Environment, Climate Change, and Forests, there have been zero elephant deaths on railway tracks in the area since the project was implemented. "The Madukkarai AI tracking is especially significant," says Sundarrajan. "Technology must be informed by traditional knowledge to make it more powerful but the results speak for themselves."
On afforestation, the Green Tamil Nadu Mission aims to increase tree cover from 23.8% to 33% by 2030-31, with a target of planting 265 crore native seedlings over a decade. As of early 2026, cover has risen to 24.47%. Over 3.14 crore saplings were planted between 2022 and 2024, and more than 2.24 crore Palmyrah seeds as of 2025.
The numbers sound impressive. Political analyst RK Radhakrishnan urges caution. "Be it their claim that Nanmangalam forest between Velachery and Tambaram counts toward forest cover, or that urban local bodies must have 15% green cover, the problem is implementation and whether local bodies fall in line."
Water conservation: Needs a systems approach
Tamil Nadu has embraced the language of modern water management, be it blue-green infrastructure, climate-resilient urban planning or integrated flood mitigation. In practice, the picture is patchier.
The Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission has helped the state reach 20 RAMSAR-notified wetlands. But Jayshree Vencatesan of Chennai-based NGO Care Earth, which works on river and wetlands conservation, is blunt: "The State Wetlands Authority has not met once in the last five years. We are yet to build substantial capacity for wetlands conservation."
River cleanup, particularly of Chennai's Cooum and Adyar, remains a perennial promise. Pollution from sewage and industrial discharge continues. Meanwhile, the city is still being built upon water bodies, with encroachments proceeding largely unchecked.
"Chennai and most Indian cities face serious floods regularly. The key question is how much of this is due to blunders already committed such as encroachments on water bodies, streams, wetlands?" asks Professor S Janakarajan of the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies. He argues for decoding Chennai's urban hydrology in its totality before making further interventions.
Jayshree echoes this. "Tamil Nadu has 17 river basins. Strategy must be done basin-wise." That systems-level thinking, she says, is still missing.
Heat: First mover, slow follow-through
In late 2024, Tamil Nadu became the first state in India to officially declare heatwaves a state-specific disaster—a move that allows it to deploy the State Disaster Response Fund for relief, and offers Rs 4 lakh in compensation for heat-related deaths. Heat Action Plans have been released at both state and city levels, covering early warning systems, cool roofs, urban greening, and inter-departmental coordination.
Being first matters. But it isn't enough, says Nigazh, a heat researcher at the University of Lisbon. "Tamil Nadu has multiple layers of heat action plans but they are very mitigation-based. Cool roofs, green roofs to protect commuters — heat action is still at a nascent stage and requires a systemic approach." He points to a core problem: no clear funding pipeline to implement the changes prescribed by plans, partly because the Central Government has refused to declare heat a national disaster.
In the meantime, other states have moved faster. Ahmedabad has introduced misting bus stops, cool roofs, and heat insurance. Odisha has banned outdoor strenuous labour between 11 am and 3 pm. "Tamil Nadu is among the most heat-impacted states in the country. We need to act faster," says Nigazh.
Renewable energy: Ready to lead?
Tamil Nadu's renewable energy credentials are not in question. The state accounts for nearly a quarter of India's wind capacity, with around 12 GW installed, and ranks fourth nationally in total renewable energy capacity at roughly 26.5 GW. In 2024, the government launched the Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited to push the clean energy transition further. Over the next five years, the plan is to add 10,000 MW of solar and 2,000 MW of wind. According to a study released by Auroville Consulting in 2025, Tamil Nadu’s estimated rooftop solar potential is 60,479 MW while its installed capacity remains below 2% of this potential. Earlier in January this year, the government launched ‘Veettukku Oru Solar’ campaign, a state-wide campaign to promote rooftop solar power generation, with hopes of increasing this number.
But Karthik Ganesan of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) makes a pointed distinction. "Tamil Nadu has ambitious mitigation targets and has been a renewable energy leader for a while. However there is a need for a concerted policy driving emissions reductions across sectors. Its position as a low emissions (intensive) state is a virtue of its economic structure in high end manufacturing and services."
The deeper contradiction sits in plain sight. Radhakrishnan puts it directly, "This government wants both jobs and decarbonisation. But data centres, which they are chasing aggressively, don't create many jobs. They are extremely water and energy consuming. There has never been a real dialogue between the Industries department and the Climate Change department. That is the biggest gap."
Dr Vishvaja Sambath of the Centre for Financial Accountability flags another contradiction: the proposed Waste to Energy (WTE) plants in Chennai. "These are being vehemently opposed across the world and are major carbon contributors, equivalent to the emissions of 10 lakh cars per day. This directly contradicts the government's climate goals." She also raises concerns about proposed desalination plants for industrial water supply and the resistance of fishing communities to the industrialisation of blue economy activity they depend on for their livelihoods.
Sustainable mobility: 'A drop in the ocean'
Transport is Tamil Nadu's quietly growing climate problem. Greenhouse gas emissions from the sector nearly tripled between 2005 and 2019, from 10 MtCO2Eq to 27 MtCO2Eq, with its share of overall state emissions rising from 12% to 19%. MtCO2Eq stands for Million Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent and is the standard unit to measure and compare the emissions of various greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential.
EV adoption, per the Vahan dashboard, remains nascent. In its 2021 manifesto, the party announced that it would introduce CNG buses across the state to promote green mobility. Accordingly, trial runs were done in Chennai, Kumbakonam and Trichy with tenders floated for converting a sizable number of existing diesel buses to CNG compatible buses. In 2025, Kumbakonam division announced plans for introducing 320 CNG buses into its fleet and in March this year, the Minister for Transport SS Sivasankar flagged off 12 new CNG buses in Rameswaram.
With respect to electrification, the government's response has been a phased plan to electrify 30% of its public bus fleet by 2030. Chennai rolled out its first large fleet of electric buses in 2025, with over 1,000 e-buses planned in phases. The Vidiyal Payanam scheme offering free bus travel for women has had measurable social impact, with most beneficiaries reporting monthly savings of over Rs. 400, with some saving between Rs. 800 and Rs. 1,000, redirected toward food and education.
Karthik Ganesan is measured in his response: "Tamil Nadu possibly has the most integrated public transport undertaking and highest availability of buses (per capita) . However, electrification of public transport has been slow and the state must look to accelerate it in this decade and capture the benefits of low cost EV operations."
Sanjiv Gopal of the Sustainable Mobility Network acknowledges that the government is moving in the right direction and can now look to build further upon what they have already established.
"The Vidiyal Payanam scheme is not just welfare, it is a structural investment in women's workforce participation,” he says. “But it could be made better if it is further expanded in terms of fleet size and range. We also need stronger targets on fleet electrification, better first-and-last-mile connectivity, and more ambitious public procurement of EVs and scaling charging infrastructure."
He also adds that infrastructural solutions should be given further thought.
"Flyovers ease traffic at one location but push the problem elsewhere. Strengthening public transport and improving walking infrastructure deliver more durable solutions."
Climate education: A blueprint worth replicating
One area that has drawn almost unqualified praise is Tamil Nadu's approach to climate education. The state has become the first in India to allocate Rs. 24 crore specifically for climate literacy in schools including strengthening eco-clubs, integrating climate content into the regular curriculum through SCERT, and training government teachers to deliver the modules.
"This is a wonderful blueprint for inter-departmental coordination that other states can replicate," says Pallavi Phatak, Director of Climate and Education at Asar Social Impact Advisors, which partnered with the TNCCM to develop over 20 climate modules. The key, she notes, is that the content was placed within the existing curriculum rather than pushed into extracurricular activities - which is usually where such efforts are relegated to.
The flipside: When green rhetoric meets industrial ambition
The Pen Monument controversy, the proposed Parandur Airport, the Mamallan Reservoir, and the ONGC pipeline project (later cancelled) have all drawn significant environmental opposition. Each sits uneasily alongside the government's stated climate commitments.
Of all the contradictions in the DMK's climate record, the Parandur Airport is the starkest. The proposed Rs. 27,500-crore greenfield airport in Kanchipuram district is meant to serve as Chennai's second international airport. It sits on over 2,172 hectares spanning 13 villages, roughly 27% of which consists of lakes, ponds, and pools.
Residents of Ekanapuram village have been protesting for over 1,000 days, and the DGCA's own approval meeting flagged waterlogging as a major concern, acknowledging the site is flood-prone. The government pressed ahead regardless, with land acquisition underway across 12 villages as of late 2025. The irony is difficult to miss: the same administration that declared heatwaves a state disaster, launched a Wetlands Mission, and vowed to build sponge-city infrastructure to absorb urban floodwater, is simultaneously acquiring and draining the very wetlands and water bodies that perform those functions naturally.
Activist and independent journalist Nithyanand Jayaraman doesn't mince words. "If there's rampant industrialisation and no proper regulation, how can we call it environment protection? All the missions are to turn eyeballs toward a glossy picture. It's climate-wash."
On the Mamallan Reservoir, he asks: "It goes against the Climate Change Mission's own advisory. How did it get coastal regulation zone clearance? Why is one wetland being protected and another being destroyed? The Nemeli and Ennore salt marshes are ecologically critical."
The Parandur Airport proposal draws the same fire. "A second airport means higher carbon emissions. That means ordinary monsoons will become dangerous,” Nityanand adds.
Verdict: A work measurably in progress
Tamil Nadu's DMK government has, in five years, done something few Indian state governments have attempted—build a serious institutional architecture for climate action, pioneered policies in biodiversity, heat disaster management, and climate education, and put renewable energy at the centre of its economic strategy.
But climate leadership is not measured by architecture alone. It is also measured by outcomes. It looks at whether floods are less destructive, ecosystems genuinely restored, and if vulnerable communities are better protected. On those measures, the record is uneven.
The government's most persistent set-back is not a lack of policy but a lack of coherence—between its climate department and its industries department, between its wetlands missions and its construction approvals, between its decarbonisation targets and its appetite for data centres, airports, and waste-to-energy plants.
"It is the environment department's responsibility to ensure every other department has climate-friendly plans," says Sundarrajan. "How much of that is actually happening today is the real question."
Five years on, the answer to how much the DMK has done for climate is: Far more than before. But still far to go.