Eco-restoration Plan underway at Adyar Poonga

While Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants have begun work on the 58-acre Adyar Poonga project at a cost of Rs 20 crore, the state government has chosen Ecosmart (promoted by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, IL&FS) to prepare the master plan for eco-restoration of the Adyar creek eco-system.The works on the Adyar Poonga was taken up early this month. The master plan for eco-restoration. To begin with, the consultants have started removing unnecessary debris and resorted to land filling wherever necessary. The water areas have also been deepened. In the first 25 days itself, approximately 25 % of the work has been completed, said sources. As per the project plan it will take 30 months but consultants told that works could be completed within 21 months.Upon successful completion, Adyar Poonga, with walkways, butterfly gardens, education centre, medicinal garden, patches of tropical dry evergreen forests and much more, is expected to be the benchmark for development of similar eco-parks in the state. Pitchandikulam Forest Consultants will continue to work in the park for a further two-year period for maintenance purposes as one of the main objective of eco-restoration is to bring back the original life forms, flora and fauna, into the creek eco-system that has deteriorated. In the second phase of the project, IL&FS Ecosmart has begun preparing the master plan for the eco-restoration of the remaining 300 acres, that is the rest of the estuary apart from the Adyar Poonga.