Unrestrained Industrialization in one South Indian Metropole

An analysis of land-use changes at Ennore Creek Chennai, India

This paper analyses the case study of Ennore Creek, Chennai using three frameworks of Sustainability, i.e., Sociotechnical, Ecosystems Thinking, and Spatial Justice. Chennai is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, a Southern Indian state and one of economic and developmental importance for the larger Indian context. It is a coastal city with many rivers, flood plains, deltas, and mangrove marshlands. Ennore Creek is one such marshland that has been contested for decades. The delicate ecosystem has been rapidly industrialized. This has led to environmental and social impacts onthe communities close to the marshland and the Greater Chennai Area due to increased flood risk for the entire city resulting from creek degradation. To establish historical context, this paper studies old and new policy documents, news interviews, and documentaries on Ennore creek’s management and the controversies around the mapping of the Creek. The paper then takes a critical look into recent political and social discourse and Budget-2021 policy dockets of the new Tamil Nadu state government. Ultimately, it seeks to examine if the recently elected DMK cabinet will improve conditions for fragile ecosystems such as Ennore Creek while accounting for local communities of the area and considering, more significant city issues like flood protection. Through this exploration, the findings indicate that Ennore’s degradation resulted from high-modernist technocratic development. And looking into the future, 2021 policy and discourse exhibit a more sustainable approach that includes ecosystem thinking but still has plenty of room for improvement.