Proposed Miyawaki forest site becomes debris dumping ground in Medavakkam

Delay in Miyawaki forest project due to debris dumping, residents claim, highlighting mismanagement and lack of progress.

Work on a Miyawaki forest, expected to house 18,000 plants, planned in a five-acre Open Space Reservation (OSR) land under Medavakkam panchayat has been delayed indefinitely, due to rampant debris dumping by the contractor appointed by the local body for building a stormwater drain (SWD), claim residents of the apartment complex adjacent to the land.

S. Raja Mohamed, a retired joint director of the Horticulture Department and resident of Purva Windermere, said, “The desilted sand from the Pallikaranai Anai Eri and Medavakkam Periya Eri was dumped here earlier this year. Subsequently, in March, the contractor responsible for the construction of a stormwater drain along the road connecting Anai Eri and Thiruvalluvar Street in Vadakkuppattu continually dumped debris at the site. The rubble and demolished cement of the existing SWD was dumped at the site, and later the debris and earth of the ongoing construction.”

“Initially, the site and road were at the same level, but due to the repeated dumping, the level inside increased by 5 feet from the road level. As a result, some mounds are now over 4 feet taller than the compound wall of the neighbourhood buildings,” he added.

K Bhavani, 40, another resident for 17 years here, said in case there were heavy winds and rain, her house would be among the worst affected. “They are higher than the compound wall and can easily enter the apartments on the first floor even,” she said.

According to Mr. Mohamed, ploughing and plans for an elevated pedestrian pavement for the Miyawaki project, conceived in 2020, began in April 2021, but halted after he found the panchayat to be replanting rooted dry plants instead of using 18,000 native and soil-binding plants as initially planned. He said officials in the panchayat said that ₹42 lakh was sanctioned under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the financial year 2021-22 for the project.

R. Hariharasubramanian, former president of the Purva Windermere Welfare Association, claimed an RTI petition was filed with the panchayat in 2022 enquiring about the status of the project, but no reply was received. “If it had materialised, this may have been the first step towards flood mitigation for the area,” he added. An artificial pond was dug, and many spots in the site were being used by construction workers for anti-social activities and dumping plastic waste, the association members said.

Meanwhile, panchayat head B. Ravi first claimed there was no debris, and later altered his statement to say that it had been dumped by the apartment builders and the sand was the earth that was dug out while the foundation was laid for raising the apartments. “The Periya Eri has not been desilted recently since the waterbody is deep enough. The sand had been dumped by builders of private properties, not by the workers of the panchayat,” he said. When asked about steps taken to remove the debris from the land, he said, “I am yet to visit the spot. An inspection will be held soon to investigate this matter.”