Chennai:
Is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh avoiding the
Adyar Poonga (Eco Park) inauguration in Chennai because of the politically charged scenario in the backdrop of the spectrum scam? Or is it purely a matter of environment clearance?
Days before the park's inauguration, it is official now, that Manmohan Singh will not inaugurate the
Poonga. Although, he would still be sharing the dais with Karunanidhi at the Indian Science Congress event in Chennai on January 3.
As per the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) the area falls under CRZ 1 under which category development activities are not permitted. However, the Tamil Nadu government claims it falls under the CRZ 2 category.
Now, the MoEF has asked the Tamil Nadu government to revert with full details.
The park is Deputy Chief Minister Stalin's pet project, which began three years ago, when the 58 acre area was a dump yard. Today, it is touted as Chennai's green lung, created at a cost of whopping Rs 15 crore.
"The dump site is now transformed into an ecological park. This will be a trendsetter for ecological restoration projects," said Phanindra Reddy, the Member Secretary of Adyar Poonga Trust.
But now, questions are being raised over the timing of the MoEF's interference when three years have already passed since work began on the site. But critics say that the park is struggling for a go ahead purely due to the multiple problems within it.
"The tide should reach the end of the
Poonga... but there are no efforts to resolve this... there is a lot of landscaping... the excavated debris is dumped along the sides... 90% of the wetland is not restored as court had asked," said TK Ramkumar a member of the Adyar Poonga Monitoring Committee.
But the big question here is how could the restoration project take off without the clearance?
"Whoever has executed this without clearance should be held accountable for it. This is an illegal project. We cannot use up public money on something that is fundamentally wrong," said Swetha Narayan an Environment Activist.
Even though the experts believe the
Poonga may turn into a haven for wetland birds, the larger issue of CRZ continues to be debated. And as a consequence, the Rs 15 crore worth park may have to wait for an official opening.