Figure 3 Much of the traditional waterbodies are a flood risk hotspot now

Figure 3 Much of the traditional waterbodies are a flood risk hotspot now

Source: (Roumeau et al., 2015)

The Pallaikaranai wetland is another example of government urban projects that have harmed Chennai's environment. Pallaikaranai wetland was formerly a huge freshwater swamp that supported the city's unique biodiversity. Unfortunately, it has been taken up by luxury residential and commercial buildings, landfills, and highway corridors. It has been converted over three decades from a 50-square-kilometer dynamic complex of water basins and drainages to a scattered patchwork of parcels covering barely three square kilometres (From 50 Sq Km to Just Three in 30 Years: Chennai’s Pallikaranai Marsh Is Just about to Vanish | Cities News,The Indian Express, n.d.)

Figure depicts the fall in the Pallikaranai Marshland's catchment area over time. The "IT (Information Technology) Corridor," which contains industry and residential complexes, poses a danger to the Pallikaranai Marshland as a whole, disrupting its biodiversity in the process. It's utilised for sewage treatment, rubbish disposal, and drainage, among other things.

In addition, an official dumpsite has been built inside the wetlands since 1989. The Perungudi dumpsite, which was located inside the marsh, opened in 1995 with a 50-acre footprint and was expanded to 110 acres in 2002. The current dumping site covers around 198 acres(Is