HC to hear plea against CMRL’s works between Light House, Poonamalle

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court to hear a petition filed by three litigants seeking an interim injunction restraining the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) from implementing CRML phase-II works in corridor four between the Light House and Poonamallee.

The petitioner cited that several temples in the project sites are heritage structures as all are more than 100 years old and they were not covered by the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).

A vacation bench of Justice GR Swaminathan and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy will hear the matter on Thursday.

“Mylai Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple, Vadapalani Sri Murugan Temple, Vadapalani Sri Vengeeswarar Temple, Vadapalani Sri Alagar Perumal Temple, Virugambakkam Sri Sundaravardharaja Perumal Temple, Valasaravakkam Sri Velveeswarar Temple, Poonamallee Sri Thirukachi Nambigal and Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Poonamallee Sri Thirukachi Nambigal and Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple Tank are 100 years old. These heritage sites are not covered by the EIA report of the CMRL for implementing corridor four - metro rail works under phase -II, ” the petition filed by G Gouthaman, PR Ramanan, and S Vijay Narayanan read.

The petitioners further submitted that as per the Venice Charter 1964 and the order of Madras HC dated June 7, 2021, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should inspect and declare structures which are 100-year-old as monuments.

“Therefore, the above-mentioned temples and temple tanks which are 100-year-old should also have been considered as the monuments/ heritage structures under the Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. However, these temples have not been considered by the CMRL in its Environmental Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment, ” the petitioners submitted.