The Kalaignar Pen Monument proposed by the Tamil Nadu state government at Chennai’s Marina Beach has received Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The conditional clearance requires that no building activity is to be done in the turtle nesting areas during the seasonal period of January 1 to April 30. The Pen Monument has been planned as a part of Muthamizh Arignar Dr Kalaignar Monument, a memorial to DMK patriarch and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.
The CRZ clearance comes with 15 conditions set forth by the Environment Ministry in a letter addressed to the Public Works Department (PWD). The letter says, “Based on the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority and considering the submissions made by the project proponent, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is in acceptance of the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee.”
The Ministry has also said that the provisions of the 2011 CRZ notification must be followed. A No Objection Certificate has to be obtained from the Naval office in Adyar. Further, the letter says that monitoring of erosion and accretion studies should be carried out. The construction debris and temporary structures put up during the building process cannot be dumped in water bodies or adjacent areas. The letter also says that no groundwater is to be extracted from the project area to meet any requirements that may arise during the construction period.
The project has so far received stiff opposition from fishing communities and environmentalists, despite which the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has decided to proceed with the project. Planned as a 50-foot pen-shaped sculpture to be constructed within the sea waters, activists and fishing communities fear destruction to marine life.
The letter further states that the crowd management plan and the Emergency Evacuation Plan (EEP) as submitted by the state government are to be implemented in totality and compliance reports are to be regularly submitted to the regional office of the MoEFCC once every six months.
In January this year, environmental and social activists representing these concerns told TNM that the public hearing regarding the Pen Monument had been hijacked by people from the DMK and the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK). The activists had also said that they were unable to present their concerns or raise queries with the authorities since they were never given a chance to even speak.
