Convert Raj Bhavan into green lungs to protect Chennai from floods: DMK MLA

CHENNAI: DMK legislator Dr Ezhilan Naganathan on Thursday urged the State government to convert Raj Bhavan, located in the Guindy Reserved Forest Area, into a green corridor and relocate the Governor’s camp office to Greenways Road, where the residences of ministers and High Court judges are situated.

“The Governor is duty bound to act in accordance with the advice of the State Council of Ministers. Therefore, I request the government to allocate a camp office for him, alongside ministers and judges, on Greenways Road,” said the MLA during the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the Assembly.

He explained the rationale behind his demand that this would facilitate the Governor to discharge his duty effectively, as the camp office will be close to the ones of elected representatives. He added that it will also help to create a green corridor in the city within the sprawling campus of the Governor’s office. “I am making this request as a resident of Chennai, which is frequently facing natural calamities and emphasising the need for more green corridors,” he said

He further supported his recommendation by referencing the findings of the Rajamannar Committee in 1977, which argued that allocating such a vast estate for the Governor was a colonial-era mindset that contradicted the principles of equality and social justice. It is ideal to provide space for the “Governor alongside ministers and judges,” he added.

Some forces are “allergic toward Dravidian ideology and Dravidian model government,” he said, possibly hinting at conflict between the elected government and the Governor. Meanwhile, he hailed Chief Minister M K Stalin and his government.