Kosasthalaiyar River: WRD inaction in removing invasive mussels disappointing, says green tribunal

CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) came down heavily on the state government and expressed disappointment over the failure of the Water Resources Department (WRD) in removing invasive alien Charru Mussels (Kakka Aazhi) from Kosasthalaiyar backwaters.

“We are disappointed in how the WRD is dealing with the issue. Even if any port trusts or ports are responsible for bringing the invasive species, the State Government has to address the issue first and then recover the expenditure from the wrongdoers. Despite the passage of more than seven months, the State Government has not taken any action in this regard, knowing well that each day’s delay would cause irreparable loss,” judicial member Justice Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati said while the hearing a case filed by Kumaresan Sooluran, a fisherman.

The Tribunal also directed the state chief secretary to convene a meeting with secretaries of environment, climate change and forest department, fisheries department, water resources department, member secretary of Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority, chairmen of Ennore port, Chennai port and Kattupalli ports at the earliest. Direction has been given to file a detailed report regarding controlling the further spread of Kakka Aazhi, the action taken, and the action to be taken before the next hearing on August 27.

A few days ago, the WRD informed the NGT that the Kamarajar Port Limited, Ennore, is the main reason for the spread of the Charru Mussels to the North Buckingham Canal, Kosasthalaiyar backwater and Pazhaverkadu Mouth due to the lack of ballasted water regulation for ship movement from south and central coast of America. The department also requested the NGT to invoke the ‘polluters pay’ principle and sought Rs 160 crore from the Kamarajar Port Limited as its contribution.

In December 2022, fishermen from Kattupakkam and environmentalists from the Save Ennore Creek Campaign raised the alarm on unchecked invasion by charro mussels in Ennore and Pulicat wetlands. They said the invasive species spread like a carpet at the bottom of the river and prevent prawns from grazing or burying themselves in the sediment. The alien species also wipe out the locally prevalent yellow clams (manja matti) and green mussels (pachai aazhi).