Signature Drive Against Coastal Secretariat in Chennai
A signature campaign launched by the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday has intensified the debate over a proposed Tamil Nadu Secretariat at Pattinapakkam in Chennai. The party has called on the government to cancel the project, pointing to the risks it poses to fishing communities and the coastal environment.
The CPI has requested an official order to drop the plan. The party, which backs the TVK government from outside, has also asked Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to find another site for the administrative complex and to protect the customary rights of fishermen over coastal land.
Announcing the campaign on behalf of the party's state committee, State Secretary M. Veerapandian said the CPI, along with other Left and democratic forces, has objected many times to plans for a secretariat near Marina Beach.
The drive is being run by District Secretary Shiva and Constituency Secretary Mary Divya. It seeks public backing for scrapping the Foreshore Estate scheme.
Veerapandian said that the relationship between coastal communities and their surroundings must be respected in any development plan. He noted that fishermen work and live in close association with the sea, and said their long connection to the coast should be a guiding factor in land-use decisions.
He compared fishing communities with those living in the hills and argued that removing fishermen from their ancestral surroundings would hurt their income and also damage the coastal landscape. Their link with the shore, he said, is central to their daily lives and work.
The CPI leader further questioned the environmental costs of building a government complex on the beach. He described construction that obstructs sea breeze as an "attack on nature" and said beaches should remain open to the public.
Such development, he argued, would go against environmental concerns raised internationally. He said the government should weigh the effects on residents along with the ecological outcomes.
Rejecting the idea that no suitable alternatives exist, Veerapandian highlighted Race Course land, claiming that 120 acres are available there. He urged the government to assess existing locations for the proposed complex and to look for a solution that avoids displacing people, rather than assuming the coastal site is unavoidable.
Through its demand for a government order cancelling the proposal, the CPI is putting pressure on authorities to decide the matter. The signature campaign combines the party's concerns about coastal livelihoods, the environment and the use of public spaces, while repeating its demand for an alternative site.