CHENNAI: Fishermen at Tiruvallur protested against the NTECL Vallur power plant, which they allege, is setting up a 140-acre coal ash pond in a rich mangrove area protected under law.
They rued that the move goes against the flu ash notification in 2016 that requires all thermal power plants to achieve 100 per cent utilisation of fly ash by December 31, 2017 and Coastal Regulation Zone’s Notification that mangrove patches larger than 0.25 acres (1000 square metre) will automatically enjoy protection as a no development zone. The proposed pond however would gobble 34 acres of mangroves, they say.
It is to be noted that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) earlier prevented the expansion of pond.
“The ongoing construction also encroaches into the hydrologically important Kuruvimedu Periya Kaalvai, a navigation channel used for the transport of salt from these saltpans to the Buckingham Canal,” said Selvaraj, a fisherman from Kaatukuppam.
“The failure of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and District Administration to enforce the law is affecting our health and livelihoods,” said R.L. Srinivasan, President of Kattukuppam Fisher Welfare Cooperative Society.
