Date:29/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/29/stories/2007072959730300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Public consultation to begin on Rs.100-crore Adyar ecopark

Vani Doraisamy

Karunanidhi will inaugurate work on the project on August 1

— PHOTO: M. KARUNAKARAN

WITH CITIZENS’ COOPERATION: The Adyar Eco Park, to be inaugurated on Wednesday, will be the State’s first globally benchmarked ecotourism venture.

CHENNAI: The Government has decided to seek active participation of citizens in the development of the Adyar creek ecopark, to be inaugurated by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Wednesday.

The draft plan of the Rs.100-crore project will be released on the same day and will be open to public discussion for a month, according to a member of the Adyar Creek Eco Park Trust that has been set up to oversee the ecological restoration of the Adyar estuary.

The plan will be posted on a dedicated website that is to be launched during the inauguration, apart from the Tamil Nadu Government website ( www.tn.gov.in) and the website of the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUISFL).

Copies of the draft plan will also be available at the TNUISFL office at 112, Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar, from August 2 to 31, on any working day.

Inputs received from the public will be incorporated in the master plan that will be finalised after extensive discussions with all stakeholders. The eco-restoration plan has been prepared by Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants, Auroville, and will involve developing of 58 acres of the creek in the first phase. In its final form, the plan will include all 358 acres of the estuary, to be developed along the lines of the Tezozomac Ecopark in Mexico.

The project will be implemented by a 50:50 joint venture special purpose vehicle to be formed by the State Government and the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company.

The State’s contribution to the funding will be about Rs. 50 crore.

The Adyar Creek Eco Park Trust will be the main agency in the development and maintenance of the ecopark that will be a globally benchmarked ecotourism project, the first of its kind in the State.

The trust will be assisted by TNRDC in discharging its day-to-day activities.