Centre gives nod to pen memorial for Karunanidhi at Chennai's Marina Beach

The pen memorial, which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 81 crore, will be of 30-metres height spread over 8,551 square metres. The length of the bridge is 290 metres on the land and 360 metres on the sea and it would be seven metres wide, the report said.

Chennai: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) has given its approval for the construction of the pen memorial honouring the late DMK president and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, about 360 metres from the coastline and a footbridge would be constructed connecting the memorial.

Earlier this month, the State Public Works Department (PWD) submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the Central government's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and sought its permission based on the report. The 12-member EAC headed by chairman Deepak Arun Apte recommended the clearance with 15 conditions that include a no-objection certificate from INS Adyar, which is located 0.8 km from the proposed memorial..

It also said no debris or construction material should be dumped in the waterbody, management of visitors should be strictly monitored in access controlled pathways, there will be no construction work in the turtle nesting area, no groundwater should be extracted from the sea area, while an expert monitoring committee should be set up while implementing the project.

The pen memorial, which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 81 crore, will be of 30-metres height spread over 8,551 square metres. The length of the bridge is 290 metres on the land and 360 metres on the sea and it would be seven metres wide, the report said. The EAC has also said that the National Centre for Coastal Research should monitor erosion and sand accretion during the construction while the Public Works Department has to adhere to the court regulations.

The project should also comply with orders of High Court and the National Green Tribunal. "The Union government's Expert Appraisal Committee approved the EIA prepared without sufficient studies and data to set up a pen memorial in the sea at an unprecedented speed. This is a very wrong paradigm, Poovulagin Nanbargal, an NGO, said on its Twitter handle.