Over 25 environmental groups seek independent review panel, halt to Mamallan reservoir work
More than 25 environmental and community organisations under the banner of the Save Nemmeli Marshlands Collective have urged the Tamil Nadu government to reconstitute the
More than 25 environmental and community organisations under the banner of the Save Nemmeli Marshlands Collective have urged the Tamil Nadu government to reconstitute the High-Level Technical Committee examining the proposed Mamallan Reservoir Project and suspend all construction activities until an independent review is completed. In a letter addressed to the Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources N. Anand, Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar, and other officials, the collective said the committee, headed by the Chief Engineer (Chennai Region) of the Water Resources Department (WRD), presented an inherent conflict of interest as the WRD itself was the project proponent.
While welcoming the government's decision to review the project, the collective said the credibility of the exercise would be undermined if it was led by the department that prepared the project. It urged the government to reconstitute the panel with independent experts, neutral technical specialists, and representatives of traditional coastal fishing communities and tribal fishers with local ecological knowledge. The organisations argued that the project was inherently unviable because it did not adequately account for the proximity of the Bay of Bengal, tidal dynamics, and extreme sea-borne weather events.
They said the review should examine whether the project documents sufficiently assessed the interaction between the reservoir and the coastal environment, adding that ignoring these factors could threaten the project's viability, the ecology of the Kovalam-Nemmeli salt marshes, fisher livelihoods, and public investment. The collective also expressed concern that construction had begun before the necessary studies were completed. It alleged that ongoing works, including the blocking of the Buckingham Canal, had already affected the marsh ecosystem and the livelihoods of more than 12,000 fishers, including tribal women.
The letter called on the government to immediately halt construction of the Mamallan Reservoir Project until a reconstituted committee completed an independent and comprehensive review of the project's feasibility and its interactions with the coastal and marine environment. The representation has been endorsed by 25 organisations, including the Chennai Climate Action Group, Chennai Wetlands Action Collective, Fridays for Future (Chennai and India chapters), Madras Naturalists' Society, Poovulagin Nanbargal, Palluyir Trust and Wetland Conservation Network.
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