Union govt keen to restore Pallikaranai lake

Chennai:

Union government on Saturday said that it is keen to restore Pallikarannai lake and has sufficient funds to restore it.

Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters during her visit to Animal Quarantine Department and Certification Station here that they intend to take up the issue to restore Pallikaranai lake.

Interestingly, her statement comes in the wake of state government preparing a plan to restore Pallikarani, Porur and Perungudi lakes under the first phase of lake conservation project.

Pallikaranai lake’s swamp area’s water holding capacity have been reduced from 1600 hectares in 2001 to 950 hectare in 2008 which has resulted in policy makers and non governmental organizations calling for appropriate measures towards conservation of wetlands. Currently, the city has 474 wetlands organized as complexes and of which 40 are of immense significance.

Natarajan said that the Union government has sufficient funds to take up restoration of wetlands. As per the component, the Centre has to provide 70 per cent of funds for the restoration of lake while the state has to provide 30 per cent.

The minister also said that she would take steps to pursue Pulicat, the second largest brackish water lagoon after

Chilika, being declared as Ramsar site. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands and is named after the town of Ramsar in Iran. The lake is one of the most important refuges for waterbirds in southern India.