Chennai: Tamil Nadu has created and restored 4,183 hectares of mangroves over the past five years, with Chennai accounting for 20 hectares of new plantations under state schemes, the Union environment ministry informed Parliament on Monday.Responding to questions by Lok Sabha MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian, Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state for environment, forest and climate change, said in a written reply that Chennai, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai together created 127.06 hectares of new mangroves and restored 94.31 hectares of degraded mangroves under state schemes.Chennai created 20 hectares of mangroves under the Green TN Mission (GTM) at a cost of ₹6.28 lakh during 2024-25. Nagapattinam created 78.04 hectares and restored 21.76 hectares under the TN-Shore programme and GTM at a cost of ₹81.16 lakh between 2024 and 2026. Mayiladuthurai created 29.02 hectares and restored 72.55 hectares under the TN-Shore programme at a cost of ₹65.26 lakh.Together, the three districts received financial assistance of ₹1.52 crore for restoring degraded patches.“TN govt has not submitted any proposal for funding under MISHTI. However, as informed by the state govt, a total of 4,183 hectares of mangrove creation and restoration has been undertaken in the state during the last five years,” Singh said.MISHTI, or ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes’, is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to restore, promote, and enhance the sustainability of coastal habitats, including climate resilience capacity, the MoS said.The parliamentary reply comes against the backdrop of increasing concern over coastal erosion and the health of Tamil Nadu’s blue carbon ecosystems. Citing an assessment by the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), the ministry said 39.2% of the state’s coastline is eroding, 40.6% is stable, and 20.2% is accreting, based on shoreline changes recorded between 1990 and 2022. It also said seagrass meadows in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar cover 634.18 sq km, according to information furnished by the state government, while the India State of Forest Report 2023 estimated Tamil Nadu’s mangrove cover at 41.91 sq km.
