A citizens’ report card gave the state government 70 marks out of 395 for restoring Ennore Creek, and that score made the news. The more telling numbers sit in the tribunal file the score is measured against: deadlines set in 2021 and 2022, a fly ash estimate that grew fivefold, and a restoration plan that was due in April 2022.
The numbers
What was reported. The Save Ennore Creek Campaign released its second assessment of the commitments made in January 2023, the first covering the government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, DT Next reported on 30 October. It scored the state 70 out of 395, found sewage interception completed at 4 of 8 identified points, estimated a fish kill on 14 and 15 August at 4 to 6 tonnes, and said the detailed restoration plan has still not been released. The article carried no government response.
The case file behind the score
The deadlines the campaign measures against come from the National Green Tribunal’s Southern Zone bench, in three applications filed in 2016 by fishers and residents: OA 8, 152 and 198 of 2016, brought by R. Ravimaran and by Meenava Thanthai. The respondent at the centre is the state power utility, for ash from the North Chennai Thermal Power Station reaching the Kosasthalaiyar river and the Ennore backwaters.
The tribunal’s orders built up in stages, according to the Joint Expert Committee report filed in the case. A committee of the Central Pollution Control Board, IIT Madras and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) was set up on 20 May 2019. On 30 November 2021 the tribunal constituted a Joint Expert Committee, chaired by retired IAS officer Santha Sheela Nair, to assess damage to soil, water, plants and animals and to recommend remediation. It asked for that report, with a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for remediation, within four months, by 18 April 2022. A February 2022 order made TNPCB and the state Environment Department bear the cost of the assessment and of checking the DPR’s quality.
What the polluter had committed to, and what was done by April 2022
TNPCB’s own compliance report to the tribunal, with status as of 15 April 2022, listed the power station’s obligations and marked most of them not complied.
| Obligation | Deadline | Status in TNPCB report, April 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Replace ash slurry pipelines 1, 2, 4 and 5 with lined pipes; no slurry into the creek | 30 June 2022 | Only line 3 fully replaced |
| Remove about 4.68 lakh tonnes of ash from a 1.7 km stretch of Ennore Creek | December 2022 | Not complied |
| Rebuild spillway so cooling water spreads evenly into the creek | 6 months | Not complied; tender for channel widening awarded |
| Marine impact study at the cooling water outfall | 3 months | Not conducted |
| Mangrove and coastal planting along Kosasthalaiyar and Buckingham Canal | June 2023 | Not complied; quotations called |
Source: TNPCB report in OA No. 8 of 2016 and connected cases, filed before the NGT (Southern Zone), compliance status as of 15 April 2022.
The same report records ₹4.12 crore in environmental compensation for the Kosasthalaiyar damage remitted to TNPCB on 27 December 2021, and a further ₹50 lakh for the pipeline violation. The campaign’s 2026 finding that fly ash slurry still leaks from ash ponds and pipelines, if accurate, would mean the pipeline item has stayed open for more than four years after its deadline. That is the campaign’s claim; the official record we could find stops at the 2022 filings.
How the ash estimate grew
The size of the clean-up has also changed on paper. The Joint Expert Committee report sets out three estimates. A 2019 expert committee found about 13.58 lakh tonnes of ash unaccounted for, 7.93 lakh tonnes of it in the river. TNPCB and CPCB’s later figure was about 65.96 lakh tonnes unaccounted. An IIT Madras member’s estimate put about 56.7 lakh tonnes in the river and surrounding areas, in deposits 1 to 8 feet deep over at least 3.51 sq km.
The fly ash estimate for the river and surroundings rose from about 13.58 lakh tonnes (2019 committee) to about 56.7 lakh tonnes (IIT Madras member, 2022), according to the Joint Expert Committee report.
A larger estimate changes the cost and time of any restoration, which is one reason the DPR matters. Without it, there is no official figure for what restoring the creek would cost or who pays which share.
It’s often said the 70 out of 395 score is an official government audit.
The record shows It is the Save Ennore Creek Campaign’s own assessment, built partly from RTI replies. The official record of compliance is what TNPCB and the power utility file before the National Green Tribunal.
A wetland on a list, and a mission that has run its course
Ennore Creek is number 100 on the list of 100 wetlands identified under the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission, recorded as a coastal wetland in Tiruvallur district owned by the Water Resources Department. The mission was set up by G.O. (Ms.) No. 59 of the Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department on 25 March 2022, with an administrative sanction of ₹115.15 crore to identify, notify and restore 100 wetlands. Its period was five years, from 2021-22 to 2025-26. That period ended in March 2026.
The DPR has moved slowly. In November 2025, The News Minute reported that TNPCB was drafting the terms of reference for a DPR on Ennore Creek and that ₹1 crore had been allocated for it. A month earlier, the campaign’s 2025 report card had found only two of 22 announced projects completed satisfactorily, the same outlet reported. The 2026 report card is the next entry in that series, not a new finding.
Who carries the cost meanwhile
The people who brought the 2016 cases were fishers, and they are still the ones whose catch depends on the creek’s water. The campaign’s 2026 report says a 68-shop fish market and a community hall are suspended, and an industrial training institute in Tiruvottiyur is stalled for want of funds. Those claims are the campaign’s, but they point to the same pattern as the official file: each piece has a named agency and a deadline, and few have a published completion date.
What this means for you
- The score is a civil-society measure; for the official position, look to TNPCB and power utility filings in OA 8 of 2016 before the NGT Southern Zone.
- The key missing document is the remediation DPR first due on 18 April 2022; its release would put a cost and timeline on restoration.
- If you fish or live along the Kosasthalaiyar, fish kills and ash leaks can be reported to TNPCB, whose reports go on the tribunal record.
- The state Wetlands Mission’s five-year period ended in March 2026; watch for whether its work is extended.
What to watch
Pending
Release of the Ennore Creek restoration DPR, for which TNPCB was drafting terms of reference in November 2025.
Pending
An official report on the cause of the August 2026 fish kill, which the campaign says it had not received through RTI by 25 September.
Pending
A decision on extending the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission beyond its 2021-22 to 2025-26 period.
Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026. Details may change; confirm on the linked official pages.
Sources
- Expert Committee Report for Assessing the Damages by Fly Ash in the Ennore Backwaters, Joint Expert Committee, OA Nos. 8, 152 and 198 of 2016 (SZ), March 2022 (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board)
- TNPCB report in OA No. 8 of 2016 with OA Nos. 152 and 198 of 2016, compliance status as of 15 April 2022, National Green Tribunal (Southern Zone)
- G.O. (Ms.) No. 59, Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department, 25 March 2022: Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission
- List of 100 wetlands identified under Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission, Tamil Nadu State Wetlands Authority
- Fish deaths, untreated sewage expose gaps in Ennore restoration: Report, DT Next, 30 October 2026
- TN Pollution Control Board to float tenders for Ennore wetland restoration, The News Minute, 18 November 2025
- Most Ennore restoration projects incomplete or abandoned, finds report card on TN govt, The News Minute, 22 October 2025
