Anti-corruption body alleges massive corruption in quick clearances for Rs 2,000 crore Brigade project in Chennai Ramsar site; all above board, says company
Alleging systemic corruption, Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption organisation, has accused Tamil Nadu's environment, forest, and urban development departments of flouting laws to grant approvals for a Rs 2,000 crore luxury housing project in Chennai.
The project, by Bengaluru-based Brigade Group, is coming up on the ecologically sensitive Pallikaranai Ramsar Wetland.
Arappor Iyakkam, at a press conference on Thursday (October 23) at the Chennai Press Club, alleged blatant violation of the Ramsar Convention and national wetland protection laws, potentially raising flooding risks for local communities. It also put forth some urgent demands in a bid to get the issue addressed.
However, a Brigade Group spokesperson, in an email to The Federal, denied the allegations, saying the land is privately held by a third party, with whom the real estate major has struck a joint venture development agreement.
'Criminal betrayal of public trust'
Jayaraman Venkatesan, the coordinator of Arappor Iyakkam who led the briefing, presented a detailed timeline of alleged procedural lapses and called for an immediate cancellation of permissions.
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“This is not just environmental negligence; it’s a criminal betrayal of public trust for personal gain,” he said.
A map of the Pallikarnai wetland site showing survey nos. 453, 496, 497 and 498, where the Brigade Group's luxury project, Brigade Morgan Heights, is set to come up.
“On the one hand, Chief Minister MK Stalin promises to reclaim the Pallikaranai marshland, and on the other, his government signs MoUs (memoranda of understanding) that pave the way for its destruction. How many crores in bribes were pocketed to turn a protected wetland into a real-estate jackpot?” asked Venkatesan.
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In a press release, Arappor Iyakkam shared what it says is the chronology of how the real estate firm's luxury housing project, Brigade Morgan Heights, received permissions. The project, comprising 1,250 high-rise apartments on 14.7 acres (Survey Nos. 453, 495, 496, 497, 498), received environmental clearance and construction nods despite being squarely within the Ramsar-designated zone, said the release.
Brigade's explanation
The Brigade spokesperson, however, refuted all the allegations. "Brigade Morgan Heights is a joint development project with the landowner. The land is privately held and has been owned by the current landowner for many decades now," said the spokesperson.
"The project has all necessary permissions and statutory clearances, having been duly obtained from the relevant authorities. Brigade Group has adhered to all applicable environmental regulations and the project approval was granted only after a detailed site assessment by the concerned authorities," the spokesperson said.
Understanding Ramsar sites
A Ramsar site refers to a wetland of international significance designated under the Ramsar Convention, formally known as the Convention on Wetlands, an intergovernmental treaty signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
These sites are recognised for their critical ecological roles, including supporting biodiversity, providing habitats for migratory birds, regulating water cycles, and mitigating floods.
The convention, now ratified by over 170 countries, aims to promote the conservation and wise use of wetlands worldwide. Designation occurs when a contracting party—typically the national government—nominates a suitable wetland within its territory that meets one or more of nine strict criteria outlined in the treaty, such as containing representative, rare, or unique wetland types, supporting vulnerable species, or serving as a key stopover for waterfowl.
Once nominated, the site is reviewed and added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance by the convention's Scientific and Technical Review Panel, with the Ramsar Secretariat in Switzerland maintaining the official global directory. This process ensures international cooperation while placing a moral and legal obligation on signatories like India to protect these areas from degradation.
Whether private or government-owned, the land's Ramsar designation post-April 2022 unequivocally bans all permanent constructions to preserve its ecological sanctity, as per the Wetlands Rules, 2017. Arappor Iyakkam's Jayaraman Venkatesan stresses, "This isn't about ownership—it's about the law's ironclad prohibition on development in protected zones, which Tamil Nadu's departments brazenly ignored for a Rs 2,000 crore real estate windfall."
Ramsar Convention norms
The Arappor Iyakkam note recalled that the Pallikaranai marshland, a critical wetland spanning 1,247.5 hectares (3,080 acres), was proudly declared a Ramsar site in 2022 by the Tamil Nadu government.
Under the Ramsar Convention and India's Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, permanent constructions in such areas are strictly prohibited. Section 3 of the Rules classifies Ramsar sites as wetlands, while Section 4 explicitly bans any enduring structures.
“Brigade Enterprises Ltd applied for Terms of Reference (ToR) for environmental clearance in July 2022 — just three months after the Ramsar notification. The State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) forwarded it to the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), which should have rejected it outright for being inside the Ramsar site. Instead, SEIAA granted ToR approval in February 2023 based on SEAC's recommendations," said the press release.
Plan approval
The irregularities escalated, according to Arappor. In its 411th meeting on September 27, 2023, the SEAC claimed the site was “near” the Ramsar area, ignoring publicly available maps that clearly show it within the boundaries, said the organisation.
Members of the Arappor Iyakkam, an anti-corruption organisation, speak against the alleged plan to violate Ramsar Convention norms to build a luxury residential project in Chennai's Pallikarnai marshland.
The forest department submitted a report stating the land was 65 metres away from the marshland, despite it abutting their own protected Survey No. 534/4, it added.
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“They asked for latitude-longitude coordinates of the project instead of verifying against the Ramsar boundaries — like scripting exam questions to fit the answers,” the press note alleged.
Further, Arappor highlighted conflicts of interest: The same IAS officer serves as the secretary for environment and forests, and the state wetland authority.
The SEAC’s 517th meeting, held on December 11, 2024, approved environmental clearance, which the SEIAA formalised on January 20 this year. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) issued construction approval just three days later, on January 23, at “lightning speed for a body notorious for delays,” the note said.
Land records obtained via RTI
Venkatesan told The Federal that Arappor's investigation drew from meticulous scrutiny of land records obtained via the Right to Information (RTI) Act, alongside government affidavits and documents submitted in ongoing court cases related to Pallikaranai's encroachments.
These sources, he said, exposed irrefutable proof that the contested survey numbers fall within the Ramsar delineation, contradicting the authorities' claims of proximity rather than inclusion.
By cross-referencing historical revenue settlement reports, wetland boundary coordinates, and approval dossiers, Arappor demonstrated a pattern of deliberate misrepresentation—such as the forest department's erroneous 65-metre distance assertion—dating back to the project's Terms of Reference application in July 2022.
MoU with Brigade
Arappor alleged that during the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024, Stalin and Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa inked an MoU with Brigade, touting the Rs 2,000 crore investment for 1,250 units priced between Rs 1.3 crore and Rs 2.8 crore each.
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“The company has already launched advertisements urging bookings with 20 per cent upfront payment and begun groundwork,” it stated, questioning, “Public servants who demand bribes for routine home approvals — how much did they pocket to trash Ramsar rules for a Rs 2,000 crore bonanza?"
Land grabs in past
Arappor's note also delved into decades of land grabs, stating that Survey No. 430 — once a 643.9-acre reserved forest under 1911 Revenue Settlement Reports — has shrunk to a mere six-acre road.
New survey numbers (446 to 546) were fabricated decades ago by revenue officials in collusion with higher-ups, converting protected marshlands into private plots for elites and real-estate firms such as Brigade, said the organisation. Today, only about 50 acres of Survey No. 534 remain as a government-owned wetland. The residents of nearby Perumbakkam, already flood-prone, bear the brunt, it added.
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"Every monsoon, they suffer because of such encroachments,” Venkatesan said. “This project will amplify flooding, endangering generations.”
Brigade's EIA application under fire
Venkatesan said that for the Brigade Morgan Heights project, the environmental clearance application (Form 1 under EIA Notification, 2006) glaringly omits any mention of the site's protection under the Ramsar Convention. Section III of Form 1 explicitly requires disclosure of "Areas protected under international conventions, national or local legislation for their ecological... value" within a 15 km radius of the project boundary.
Brigade ticked "yes" for this category but evasively cited distances to other hotspots: Nanmangalam Reserve Forest at 5 km, Guindy National Park at 11.65 km, and—most damningly—the Pallikaranai Marshland itself at just 1.28 km, without flagging its Ramsar status or the Wetlands Rules, 2017, ban on permanent constructions, Venkatesan noted. "They categorically failed to mention that Pallikaranai Marshland is 0 km distance from the construction site," he alleged.
Decrying it as a deliberate misrepresentation, he accused environment department officials of "blind collusion" by granting Terms of Reference in February 2023 and full clearance in January 2025 without verifying the Ramsar overlap. "By downplaying a core wetland as a mere 'marshland' 1.28 km away, Brigade and SEIAA/SEAC turned a mandatory red flag into a green light, potentially pocketing bribes to bury the truth," he alleged.
Key demands presented
Arappor has lodged complaints with the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Chief Minister's Office, Chief Secretary, and Union Environment Ministry, urging a multi-agency probe into the matter.
The press note also outlined five key demands:
1. Immediate revocation of the environmental clearance and construction permit issued to Brigade, halting all work and reclaiming the land.
2. Registration of an FIR by the Anti-Corruption Bureau based on Arappor’s evidence; investigating ministerial involvement without shielding IAS officers.
3. Departmental action against implicated officials, including CMDA Member Secretary Anshul Mishra IAS; Environment Secretary Rahul Nath IAS; SEIAA Chairman Krishnakumar IFS (Retd.); SEAC Chairman K Deenabandu (former IAS); among others.
4. Cancellation of all construction and environmental approvals granted post-April 8, 2022, within the Ramsar site.
5. Government reclamation and protection of encroached lands, ensuring no further developments.
The Federal has also emailed queries to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary N Muruganandam IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Housing and Urban Development) Kakarla Usha IAS, and Additional Chief Secretary (Environment, Climate Change and Forests) Supriya Sahu IAS, seeking their responses on the alleged irregularities in the Brigade Morgan Heights approval case.
At the time of publication, we are yet to get their responses. We will update the copy once we do so.
