Madras High Court reserves orders in cases challenging NGT ban on construction within 1 km of Pallikaranai Marsh

According to senior counsel representing CREDAI-Chennai, construction activities on 3,474 hectares in South Chennai have come to a halt due to the ban imposed by the NGT. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

The Madras High Court on Wednesday (November 11, 2026) reserved its orders on a series of writ petitions filed by CREDAI-Chennai and others challenging the authority of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to impose a blanket ban on new construction within one kilometer of the existing boundaries of the Pallikaranai Wetland, spanning the Rams.5

Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan reserved their verdict without giving any date when the orders would be pronounced. The decision was taken after hearing Senior Advocate PS Raman for CREDAI-Chennai and Additional Advocate General PV Balasubramaniam for Tamil Nadu State Wetlands Authority (TNSWA).

As the hearing of the series of cases began on Wednesday, the judges questioned whether it would be appropriate for them to adopt a much smaller interim zone of influence (ZoI), as proposed by TNSWA, around the Pallikaranai wetland when the Supreme Court was already dealing with the larger issue of protecting all wetlands spread across the country.

In that case, Mr. Raman urged the court to set aside the ban on construction imposed by the NGT on any one kilometer area around the marsh boundaries and remand the matter to the court for a fresh hearing. If the High Court could not accept the interim ZoI because of the pending case in the Supreme Court, how could the NGT arbitrarily impose a ban on construction, he asked.

The Solicitor General said construction activities on 3,474 hectares in South Chennai have come to a standstill due to the ban by the NGT and property owners as well as real estate agencies have been put to a lot of trouble. He also said that the boundaries of the swamps have not yet been definitively defined and that they are expected to shrink after a proper survey.

TNSWA, on its part, submitted a map of the proposed provisional ZoI spread over 128.19 hectares in 36 different survey counts. He said that even under the interim ZoI, construction activities may not be banned in the entire zone and could be regulated based on site-specific, scientific and hydrological characteristics.

The authority told the court that there could be a ban on blocking, diverting or clogging established inflow and outflow channels, natural drains or hydrological pathways in the proposed interim ZoI.

Similarly, dumping of solid waste, construction waste, and other wastes in sewers could be prohibited, and the discharge of untreated sewage, sewage, or wastewater into waterways associated with the wetland could be prohibited. Permanent changes to established hydrological connections could also be prohibited, and red-category industries with high pollution potential could be prohibited.

“In case of construction, it is not necessary to obtain an objection certificate from the District Wetland Management Committee in accordance with the proposed regulatory mechanism. The proposed regulatory framework is to ensure that development activities do not obstruct the natural flow of water to or from the Pallikaranai Ramsar site or adversely affect its ecological character while balancing the developmental needs of society and government,” the TNSWA report said.

The court was also told that the final ZoI will be determined only after the completion of scientific and cadastral exercises and ground repairs in accordance with the Wetlands Conservation and Management Rules, 2017 and the guidelines contained therein.

Published – 12 Nov 2026 01:41 IST