Chennai: The Chennai corporation is free to go ahead with its cement concrete relaying work on Marina loop road after the principal bench of the National Green Tribunal refused to stay the project.
Dismissing a petition filed by S. Venkatesh of T. Nagar, the Bench, headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, judicial member Justice M.S. Nambiar and expert members D.K. Agarwal and Bikram Singh Sajwan, observed that the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority had not granted clearance to the project “without application of mind”, as claimed by the petitioner.
“The major part of the project relates to relaying the road without any additions like fixation of lights and beautification of the area,” the tribunal observed.
The Bench gave a clean chit to corporation on all three grounds raised by the petitioner and accepted the local body’s argument that “...there will be no change in land use in implementation of the project.”
However, as the area is a prominent Olive Ridley turtle breeding zone, the bench instructed the corporation to stick to project elements for which approval was sought and received from the CZMA in December 2014, including the lights.
“Lights of appropriate size would be fixed, while ensuring that least light is thrown towards the sea and they are to be put off every day between 11 pm and 5 am from December to February every year. There shall be no widening of the road and the footpath and the storm water drain shall be provided only towards the landward side,” the bench said.
The NGT allowed the petitioner the privilege of approaching it once again in case of violation on the order.
Initially proposed in 2014, the Rs 47 crore Marina Loop Road beautification project envisioned erection of seating galleries, dedicated cycle tracks and footpaths besides converting the bitumen road into concrete road. It ran into rough weather as coastal conservation activists objected to development work on the seaward side.
The case which was initially before the NGT’s southern bench here was transferred to the principal bench in April 2015.
