SWD project on ECR: Corpn defers meeting without intimation

CHENNAI: Residents of areas along the East Coast Road (ECR) were left fuming as the Greater Chennai Corporation postponed a public consultation meeting regarding the construction of storm water drains in Kovalam Basin without prior information.

The civic body had sent initiations to the office-bearers of residents’ welfare associations in Perungudi and Sholinganallur zones and requested them to take part in the consultation meeting at a private wedding hall in Neelankarai on Thursday.

When some office-bearers visited the hall, they came to know from other residents, who received postponement intimation, that the meeting has been postponed to Friday. The meeting will be conducted at the same venue. L Muralidharan of Kannappa Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association in Kottivakkam, who came to participate in the meeting, riled that the civic body does such things frequently to discourage people from taking part in the meetings.

On the other hand, officials claimed that the meeting has been postponed as South Chennai MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian and local MLA Aravind Ramesh consented to take part in the meeting on Friday.

As per the plan, the corporation will make a presentation on the importance of the SWD project of the Kovalam basin for the public at large, which is being carried out under funding from KfW, the German Development bank.

Several residents’ welfare associations along ECR have been opposing the project citing that the sandy soil in the region does not require storm water drains and project would impact the environment negatively.

Meanwhile, the State environment department invited some of the residents who raised objections over CRZ clearance for the project to take part in a meeting on Friday at the State secretariat in which Chennai Corporation senior officials were supposed to take part. However, the residents received messages later on the day saying the meeting has been cancelled. “Two different meetings on the same issue were scheduled at two different locations that are 15 kilometres apart,” a resident pointed out.