Tamil Nadu Chief Wildlife Warden informed the committee that the draft ESZ notification had already been submitted to the Union Environment Ministry and assured members that the process of rationalising the Pulicat boundary would be completed within next year.
| Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) has directed the Tamil Nadu government to complete the rationalisation of the boundaries of the Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary within a year, while clearing two industrial expansion projects near the protected wetland in Tiruvallur district.The direction came during the 87th meeting of the SC-NBWL, where the committee discussed concerns over the current delineation of the sanctuary boundary and the long-pending notification of the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).According to the meeting minutes, ecologist Raman Sukumar observed that the sanctuary boundary appeared to have been “incorrectly delineated” and should largely be confined to the lagoon area of Pulicat Lake, which forms the primary habitat for flamingos and other key avifaunal species. The present boundary, he noted, includes adjoining villages that support only common bird species.In 2024, the Tamil Nadu government initiated the process of settling claims in these villages as part of steps towards issuing the final notification for the sanctuary under the Wild Life (Protection) Act. Environmentalists had then warned that excluding villages from the notified sanctuary boundary could significantly shrink the de facto 10-km ESZ around Pulicat and open up surrounding areas to further industrialisation from hubs such as Gummidipoondi and Ponneri. The committee in the last meeting said the Tamil Nadu government must complete the rationalisation of the sanctuary boundary by April 2027 and resubmit the draft ESZ notification with all essential details within two months.It further stated that no additional proposals concerning the protected area would be considered until the processes were completed. These directions came as the SC-NBWL recommended proposals by Danblock Private Limited and Anjan Drug Private Limited for industrial expansion projects located 8.5 km and 7.87 km respectively from the sanctuary, within the default ESZ area.The projects had earlier been deferred in March 2025 pending a scientific assessment by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM). The study later concluded that the “zone of influence” around the sanctuary extended only up to about 5.1 km, and that both projects, located within SIPCOT and more than 5.5 km away, were unlikely to affect wildlife.The Tamil Nadu Chief Wildlife Warden informed the committee that the draft ESZ notification had already been submitted to the Union Environment Ministry and assured members that the process of rationalising the Pulicat boundary would be completed within next year. Published - May 27, 2026 05:30 am IST
