The National Green Tribunal has overturned the environmental approval for the Tamil Nadu Polymers Industrial Park in Ponneri, Chennai’s outskirts.
In 2012, the government recommended that the park be built in Tiruvallur district, attracting a total investment of 3,000 crore and creating over 7,000 employment. Two years ago, the foundation was laid.
Activists claimed the 265 acres awarded were part of the environmentally vulnerable Ennore-Pulicat wetland, and K Saravanan filed a complaint with the NGT Southern Zone, saying that state officials withheld this information.
While official documentation indicated that the location was dryland, the Environment Impact Assessment study said that it was a low-lying region filled with water that may overflow during monsoons.
