OMR Residents Petition CM to Scrap Proposed Mamallan Reservoir Project

More than 50 organisations, including residential welfare associations from Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), along with over 1,100 citizens, have petitioned Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay seeking the scrapping of the proposed Mamallan Reservoir project. The petitioners warned that the project could worsen flooding in the corridor and damage ecologically sensitive wetlands.

Residents stated that the project is being offered under the pretext of meeting drinking water needs across OMR, where neighbourhoods continue to depend on private water tankers. However, petitioners alleged that the reservoir would encroach upon the Kovalam-Nemmeli salt marsh and endanger a vital habitat supporting more than 200 resident and migratory bird species.

“An ecologically destructive project that increases flood risk and affects livelihood cannot be called sustainable water planning,” said Sholinganallur resident Bhuvana Raj.

Harsha Koda, co-founder of the Federation of OMR Residents’ Associations, highlighted that residential localities along OMR lie directly between the Pallikaranai and Nemmeli wetland systems. Koda warned that constructing the reservoir could aggravate the entire region’s climate vulnerability and heighten local flood risks.

The petitioners have urged the state government to halt the project to safeguard the natural wetland systems and prevent further climate and flood threats to communities across the OMR belt.