An independent study warns that the proposed 127-acre Rs 261-crore Global Sports City at Semmencherry is located within the Pallikaranai flood management system and will affect 1.24 lakh people's flood risk.

The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) in coordination with CMDA is developing a global sports city at Semmencherry at a cost of Rs 261 crore on 42 acres.

The project aims to transform Chennai into an international sports hub and train athletes by global standards.

Facilities planned include: large stadium, FIFA-standard football field, cycle track, swimming pool, shooting range, archery area, skating rink, dedicated lake for rowing/canoeing/kayaking, multipurpose indoor arena for table tennis/squash/billiards/combat sports, athlete accommodation, training spaces, sports science facilities, commercial spaces, clubhouses, parks, jogging paths, and rainwater conservation system.

Located along Old Mahabalipuram Road near Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology.

Project announced by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Assembly in April 2022. Construction in phases, scheduled completion in 2027. Government planning new access roads and metro connectivity. Facilities open to public besides professional athletes. Water resources department will handle earth-filling and tank-deepening works to prevent rain-water stagnation and integrate water-sports lake. Completion depends on timely land acquisition.

Madras High Court on Monday warned of action against officials if they failed to explain the authority for reclassifying the Semmencherry water body to allow a police station to be constructed. Response to PIL by NGO Arappor Iyakkam against police station construction on Thamaraikani lake in Sholinganallur. Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan made observation as state sought more time for explanation. Water body originally spread over 61 hectares and has shrunk drastically. Recorded as water body in revenue records but was reclassified as grazing pathway road.

• The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is considering cancelling projects not yet taken up, subject to State government approval. Its outstanding liabilities are about ₹3,500 crore, including ₹1,500 crore for land acquisition and ₹1,000 crore for Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam.
• Global Sports City may be handed to the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. Planned on 127 acres near Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, it was estimated to cost ₹261 crore. Former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin laid its foundation stone in February 2026; the project took shape in November 2024.
• Proposed beachfront works span Marina to Besant Nagar, Elliot’s Beach to Neelankarai, Neelankarai to Akkarai, Akkarai to Kanathur and Kanathur to Kovalam, covering Marina Beach, Broken Bridge, Elliot’s Beach, Thiruvanmiyur, Neelankarai, Akkarai, Uthandi, Muttukadu and Kovalam. The ₹18.45-crore Marina Heritage Corridor, announced in April 2025, covers 2.5 km from Lighthouse to Island Grounds.
• Plans to rejuvenate 10 lakes across the Chennai Metropolitan Area had a proposed ₹100-crore State allocation. Operations of completed projects, including Porur’s M.S. Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park and the air-conditioned Retteri Junction bus stand in Kolathur, will go to Greater Chennai Corporation.
• Land pooling schemes at Thirumazhisai and Madambakkam are delayed. Under the model, owners receive 60% of developed land; CMDA retains 40% for infrastructure and commercial development.

Uvakai Research Foundation’s study, based on revenue records from 1905 to the 1980s, satellite data and Google Earth images, found that 165 water bodies—31 lakes and 134 tanks, including Velachery tank and Taramani lake—have disappeared. The catchment has 452 remaining water bodies and has lost 7.35 sq km of water-storage area. Pallikaranai Marsh has shrunk from 6,000 hectares in the 1920s to 694 hectares; the Perungudi dump yard occupies 225 acres.

The 306-sq-km catchment in the Kovalam basin has 28% low-lying areas. Uvakai directors Dr E Vidhubala and N Udhayarajan called for designating these areas as no-development zones. Restoring water bodies and marshlands to 1.5 metres deep could retain up to 65% of runoff; natural channels Okkiyam Madavu and B-Canal could manage the remaining 35% if desilted and maintained.

Recommendations include stopping encroachments, reviving water bodies, prioritising natural drains over cut-and-cover drains or sponge parks, scientific maintenance with IIT and Anna University, interdepartmental coordination with ISRO, and relocating the proposed Global Sports City at Semmencherry. Volume 2, including field assessments and recommendations, is due in July.