SUBJECT: 10 lakh Chennai Residents at Risk of Disastrous Flooding Due to GoTN's Approval of Encroachment in Ennore Creek

The December 2015 floods were a result in large part due to the loss of wetlands and the growth of the city by encroaching waterways and waterbodies. A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs submitted a report in August 2016 urging the state government to "check the mafia involved in illegal construction for business and usurping water bodies for their real estate business."

It is unfortunate that the Government of Tamil Nadu is itself involved in “usurping waterbodies.” We refer to the recent approval of the Government of Tamil Nadu to convert portions of Ennore Creek into industrial real estate for Kamarajar Port. A proposal by NTECL, Vallur, to further expand its coal ash dump by reclaiming the Creek is currently pending at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Both Kamarajar Port and NTECL are public sector units.

The Ennore Creek absorbs floodwaters from Kosasthalaiyar and protects inland areas from flooding by draining it through the Ennore Creek. In 2015, areas such as Athipattu, Athipattu New Town, Nandiambakkam, Vallur, Pattamandiri, Poochettipattu, Melur, Kondakarai, Vellivoyal Chavadi, Naapalayam, Vichoor, Edayanchavadi, Kolakkarai, Andarkuppam, Kadapakkam, Manali New Town, Burma Nagar, Sadayankuppam, Kosappur, Sentiambakkam, Thiyambakkam, Ariyalur, Kanniammanpettai, Vilangadupakkam, Vyasarpadi, Kodungaiyur, MKB Nagar, Ezhil Nagar, KKD Nagar, Washermanpet, Korukkupet, RK Nagar and Ernavur were badly flooded. The CPCL petroleum refinery too was shut down due to flooding, as floodwaters from Manali could not drain through the swollen Kosasthalaiyar.

These areas were flooded because illegal industrial encroachments spreading over 1090 acres of Kosasthalaiyar's wetlands. Nearly 10 lakh people live in the areas that have been made flood prone by these industrial encroachments in Ennore Creek. The Kosasthalaiyar is far larger than the Adyar and Cooum rivers. Its catchment of 3800 square kilometres is four times the combined drainage areas of Adyar and Cooum. The existing encroachments have drastically reduced the backwater area of Kosasthalaiyar in addition to blocking east flowing waters.

Any further encroachment into the Creek will result in floods that are far worse than the 2015 floods. Even average and above average rains will lead to disastrous flooding. By permitting further encroachments in Ennore Creek, the governments of India and Tamil Nadu are making a bad situation worse. These flood-prone areas are populated by low-income communities who lack the economic resilience to withstand another flood shock.

The State and National Disaster Management Authority are headed by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the Prime Minister of India. They should prioritise the safety of Chennai's residents and ask Kamarajar Port and NTECL to build their respective facilities on dry land instead of in the river.

I urge you to prepare for the imminent monsoon and cyclone season by:
1. Directing Kamarajar Port, NTECL or any other entities to avoid any further encroachment on any portion of the Ennore Creek.
2. Directing NTECL to restore the areas already encroached for expansion of its ash pond in Vallur, and Kamarajar Port to restore the areas encroached for setting up its coal yard and free trade warehouse zone.
3. Dredging the Cochrane Canal and the Buckingham Canal to their original depths, and restoring the Paraval or backwaters.