The Environment Ministry has granted its sign of approval to the ambitious four-lane elevated expressway between the Chennai Port Trust and Maduravoyal spanning 20.5 kms, intended to ease traffic in Chennai City and to facilitate better freight transport from the city port. The proposal by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has now been recommended for Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance by Environment Ministry’s Appraisal Committee with some conditions.
The conditions include prior clearance from the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wildlife, replanting five times the number of trees that will come under the axe due to the project while ensuring their survival rate is at least 85%, and prohibition on dumping excavated material in water bodies or in adjacent areas.
The proposed elevated highway is also expected to be a lifeline for the port, enabling free movement of freight. The project has already been recommended by the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNCZMA). According to reports, this proposed corridor will pass through major commercial areas of Chintadripet, Egmore, Aminjikarai, Nungambakkam, Arumbakkam, Koyambedu and Maduravoyal, important neighbourhoods in the city, stretching along the banks of the Cooum.
A navy quarters with a built-up area of about 12,846 sq. m and three bungalows are also part of this project. The existing buildings in the naval area, through which this elevated corridor will pass, will now be demolished to make way for the new buildings.
According to a report in The Hindu, the project began in 2010 but was put on hold two years later, in 2012, following objections over its alignment. While the earlier alignment proposed to begin from Gate Number 10 of the Chennai Port, the new plan begins from the Port itself. The piers too, have been reduced from 1,013 to 639 in the new proposal.