The Marina beach story moved to its next phase – namely that of judicial intervention. A two-judge panel of the High Court of Madras inspected the place and expressed shock at the manner in which bunk shops had been allowed to proliferate in what was once a pristine beach. They have asked for a plan to reduce these and also restrict the nature of items on sale in these shops. The Corporation has acquiesced. It has also agreed to create a fourth blue flag zone behind the memorials, in addition to the three that it was already planning to have on the rest of the Marina.
All to the good? End of story? Well not quite. There are plenty of questions that are thrown up on the basis of the above developments. First, there is disagreement on the actual number of shops in existence – a drone survey reveals over 1,900 while the Government stubbornly sticks to 1,400. What is the agreed and accepted number of shops that there can be? Second, who is going to monitor the items that can be sold in these shops and make sure they are restricted to food, toys, and souvenirs as mandated by the Court? Third, why should there be any shop on the beach when around forty years ago there were none? In a sense are they not all illegal given that the beach is public property and cannot therefore have squatters? Who is to answer these queries?
We next come to the question of the blue flag areas. These are bounded sections of the beach where special facilities will be put up – play areas for children, access for the elderly and those with special needs, etc. But there will also be an entry fee, which will ostensibly go to cover some maintenance costs. Does this not however mean that we are creating exclusive zones for those who can afford to pay for these facilities and therefore exclude others? Was not the beach a free facility for everyone to enjoy in its entirety till the shops came along and then forced us to accept clean (read blue flag) and dirty zones? Even now, if the blue flag areas are the ones to be cleaned, are we to accept that the remaining will become rubbish tips? A recent news item showed that this was exactly what had happened at Elliots Beach.
The bigger question is the red flag that this issue waves in our face as regards a steady pattern that has emerged as far as administration is concerned. This concerns encroachment of all kinds. Be it that of sidewalks, water bodies, green cover, or plain illegal additional floors over and above what is sanctioned, the administration prefers to watch or turn a blind eye until it is very late and the issue cannot be overlooked. The Courts then step in, demand action, and the administration takes some steps that owing to the earlier inaction, makes for news and is sometimes hailed as decisive. The beach too has gone the same way in front of our eyes.
The rest of the story is quite predictable – there will be an eviction drive, followed by cases in court. This being election year, the party in power will let the matter lie. Many promises will be made during campaigning, and this will be across all parties. Post the election, depending on which way the court verdict is, action of a half-hearted nature will be taken. The problem will fester and a few years from now, we will be forced, by way of a fait accompli, to accept a multi-storey hawker precinct on the beach. Watch this space, and that on the Marina, to see if this happens or not.