Chennai, Jan 20 (IANS) Representatives of 16 fishing villages in Chengalpattu district, stretching from Kanathur Reddikuppam to Kokkilimedu, have mounted a strong opposition to the proposed Kovalam-Mahabalipuram reservoir project, warning that it could erase traditional fishing livelihoods, damage fragile coastal wetlands and violate key provisions of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) framework.

At a consultation meeting held at the Thiruporur Block Development Office recently, members of the fishing community submitted a formal representation to T.M. Anbarasan, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday (January 19) laid the foundation stone for the reservoir, proposed as Chennai’s sixth drinking water source.

The fishermen said the project would dismantle “paadu rights” — customary fishing grounds used by generations of traditional fishers — and irreversibly alter the ecological character of brackish backwaters, salt marshes and wetlands along the coast.

The community questioned the legal validity of the CRZ clearance issued by the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority on December 3, 2025. According to the representation, active fishing grounds and living commons were allegedly misclassified as “vacant land” to secure approval.

The fishermen further alleged that the project failed to map and formally record traditional fishing zones, a requirement under the CRZ Notification, 2019.

“The CRZ framework was created to protect coastal ecosystems and safeguard fisher livelihoods. In its present form, this project destroys our fishing grounds and treats living ecosystems as empty land,” the representatives stated.

A major concern flagged was the proposed diversion of the Buckingham Canal. The fishing villages warned that altering the canal could obstruct monsoon drainage, worsen flooding in low-lying settlements and sever the natural hydrological link between the backwaters and the sea.

Such disruption, they said, could lead to the collapse of salt marshes and brackish ecosystems that sustain local fisheries.

The impact, they added, would extend to indigenous Irular communities living in the region. The drinking water reservoir, announced in the 2025-26 State Budget, is proposed across about 4,300 acres of coastal wetlands between the East Coast Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road.

The Water Resources Department has maintained that the project will augment the drinking water supply to southern Chennai and help mitigate flooding in peri-urban areas.

The WRD officials said the site’s natural topography makes it the only feasible large-scale storage option in the sub-basin. Despite the opposition, CM Stalin laid the foundation stone for the project.

–IANS

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