Anbumani alleges ‘massive fraud’ in Pallikaranai wetlands projects
Anbumani Ramadoss | Photo Credit: RAGHUNATHAN SR
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday accused officials of trying to dilute the safeguards for the Pallikaranai wetland in favor of real estate developers and alleged that there was a “massive fraud” going on around the wetland.
He urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to intervene and stop projects that could damage the swamps and their natural drainage channels.
Dr. Anbumani questioned the construction of the road and footpath in the swamps and demanded that the government identify the officials who approved the project, which he said was financed through a ₹21.5 million World Bank loan.
He claimed that an embankment had been raised across the wetland and a walking path of polished granite and flagstone had been laid on top of it.
“Who will go there? Will the birds go there?” he said, adding that the levee, which was about 10 feet high, could prevent water from moving between parts of the wetland. The forest minister reportedly said that the fence was only 1.5 feet high and asked the minister to verify it personally.
Dr. Anbumani said the Pallikaranai wetland has shrunk from about 15,000 acres a century ago to about 2,000 acres today. “If we destroy the protection provided by Pallikaranai, the city could witness floods worse than what it witnessed in 2015,” he said.
Citing directions issued by the Supreme Court in 2024 and in July this year, he said the state had not informed the wetlands despite being asked to complete the exercise.
He also questioned the functioning of the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Authority, which was set up in 2018 and revived in 2024. “Not a single meeting has been held since 2024 till today,” he claimed.
Dr. Anbumani claimed that the government is now trying to limit the Zone of Influence (ZoI) through proceedings before the Madras High Court. The area initially designated as ZoI was nearly 8,000 hectares, he said, but officials were proposing to reduce it to about 300 hectares.
“We are not against development, but destroying nature for development is wrong. If builders have land and pattas, let them build. But first, map the swamps and their drainage channels separately to avoid blocking the inflow of water from the 65 lakes and water bodies,” said Dr. Anbuman.
Accusing “senior officials” of misleading the government and the courts, he said: “If the chief minister does not directly intervene in the problem, people will talk about it as the biggest corruption of his tenure.”
Published – 5 Nov 2026 22:16 IST