Mehul H Doshi, President, Credai- Chennai and Viswajith Kumar, Vice-President, at a press conference in Chennai
| Photo Credit:
Bijoy Ghosh
Restrictions imposed around the Pallikaranai Ramsar site could impact nearly ₹72,000 crore worth of economic activity in Chennai and affect more than one lakh patta landowners, according to CREDAI Chennai. The real estate industry body on Tuesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to review the blanket one-kilometre development freeze around the internationally recognised wetland.The developers’ body said the current restrictions have effectively stalled real estate activity in parts of the city’s southern growth corridor over the past nine months, affecting residential and commercial developments, industries, financial institutions and property owners.According to CREDAI’s assessment, the planning freeze could affect ₹51,735.88 crore worth of real estate business. It also estimated a direct revenue loss to the government of ₹10,995.38 crore through stamp duty, registration charges and other levies, besides an indirect economic impact of ₹8,795.10 crore. Together, these take the overall economic implication to nearly ₹72,000 crore.Mehul H Doshi, President of CREDAI Chennai, said the industry body’s concern is not with the 698-hectare Pallikaranai Swamp Reserve Forest, which has been protected since 2007, or even the 1,248-hectare Ramsar site. Instead, the issue relates to an additional 550 hectares that has been brought under the notification without clear identification or survey number demarcation. More than one lakh patta owners have been impacted because of this uncertainty, Doshi said.planning freezeViswajith Kumar, Vice-President of CREDAI Chennai, said the uniform one-kilometre influence zone around the Ramsar site has created a planning freeze over a much larger urban area without adequate scientific assessment. It said the influence zone should instead be determined through hydrological studies, drainage patterns, topography, land-use assessment and field validation rather than by applying a blanket buffer.The entire Pallikaranai region, which includes Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) region has witnessed a virtual halt in real estate activity for the past nine months after the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) suspended approvals and sanctions within the notified area, he said.infra projectsKumar pointed out that the one-kilometre zone covers several major public infrastructure projects, including Chennai Metro Rail Phase II stations, existing MRTS stations and the proposed integrated transit hub at Sholinganallur.Last month, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority revoked the environmental clearance granted to Brigade Enterprises for a residential project near the Pallikaranai marsh after finding that construction had commenced without mandatory approval from the Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority.CREDAI said their representation is unrelated to that case and is focused on safeguarding the interests of genuine patta holders and ensuring regulatory clarity.Published on July 7, 2026
