Ecological Assessment of South Chennai Wetlands

The present study aims to bring to light the damage being wrecked to the wetlands in the south of the Metropolis of Chennai, India. It tries to raise the plea for the Ecologically sensitive and beneficial wetlands. The setting of the study includes the burgeoning real estate haven of Velachery. These Wetlands are being eaten up by the rampant urban sprawl and unscientific solid waste disposal. The relative callousness coupled with the paradoxical approach of the authorities to development is baffling. Sparring some protests from concerned NGOs and People, there has been very little constructive work for the wetlands and their salvation. The study has used Remote Sensing and Geographic information systems to analyse the extent of damage caused to the ecologically sensitive and essential wetlands. Specie Identification, Water quality analysis and Socio-economic surveys were carried out. It also suggests a Management Plan and hopes that this work would go a long way in the reclamation of this bountiful resource base. The authors of paper hope that this would be a valid step in the path to attain a much-needed salve for the wetlands that can at best remain mute witness to their own doom