News Brief
Tamil Nadu: PIL Filed Against Karunanidhi Pen Memorial Days After AIADMK's D Jayakumar Had Moved Supreme Court Regarding It
Proposed Pen Statue (artist impression)
KK Ramesh, a resident of Madurai, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court against the proposed Pen Statue to be built in memory of former chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) supremo M Karunanidhi.
This is the second PIL to be filed against the proposed Statue. Earlier, in February, a group of fishermen had filed a PIL.
Ramesh has asked the Court to direct the Tamil Nadu government and the Union Ministry of Environment to drop the project as it could harm the coastal ecosystem.
Further, he alleged that state government departments had granted permission in haste.
The PIL comes days after a plea against the Pen Statue by D Jayakumar, the Organising Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The proposed Pen Statue would be 42 metres tall and it would be built in the sea at a distance of 360 metres from the coast. It would be made accessible from the existing Karunanidhi memorial near Marina Beach in Chennai through a bridge.
It is expected to cost the state exchequer around Rs 80 crore.
While the total project area would cover 8,551.13 square metres, about 2,263 square metres of sea area would have to be reclaimed for building the monument.
In April, the Union Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) cleared the proposal with certain conditions. It now awaits a No-objection certificate (NOC) from INS Adyar, which is stationed in the area.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
