The Tamil Nadu government’s in-principle approval for a new Secretariat and Legislative Assembly complex at Foreshore Estate in Chennai has faced strong opposition from fishing communities and multiple political parties. The roughly Rs 1,200-crore project is planned on about 25.5 acres in the Pattinapakkam area of Mylapore, with authorities citing severe space constraints at the current secretariat campus at Fort St George.
Fishing families along the nearby Marina Loop Road fear the project will restrict their shoreline access—which they rely on for boat movement, net repair, drying fish, and selling their catch—with community representatives estimating over 1,500 families could be affected and concerned that security arrangements will further limit their movement.
Political leaders have also raised objections, pointing to issues such as traffic, parking, parking space, and whether the project violates assurances given to the Madras High Court regarding government employees at the site. One party has demanded an alternative site due to the lack of a public hearing, while a left party’s state unit has demanded the project be scrapped entirely, citing environmental assessments that mark the area as an ecologically sensitive Olive Ridley turtle nesting ground that is vulnerable to cyclones, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels.