Permit only 300 shops on Marina beach, orders Madras High Court

The Madras High Court on Thursday (January 8, 2026) ordered that only 300 shops be allowed on the entire stretch of the Marina beach in Chennai at the rate of 100 shops each for selling eatables, toys, and souvenirs. It also ordered the allotment of these shops through drawal of lots under the supervision of a retired judge of the High Court.

A special Division Bench of Justices R. Suresh Kumar and A.D. Jagadish Chandira, constituted to hear town vending related cases, passed the orders after disapproving of a revised plan submitted by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Thursday to reduce the number of shops on the beach from 1,417 to 1,006.

Wondering how thousands of shops could be allowed on the Marina beach, where a drone survey had enumerated as many 1,980 shops, Justice Suresh Kumar said: “Please show one beach in the world with these many shops. A beach must be for the children to play, not for hawkers to squat over.”

At the same time, appreciating the GCC for having taken the initiative to obtain the internationally recognised ‘blue flag’ tag for different stretches of the Marina beach by making them hawkers-free and creating various infrastructural facilities, the judges said, the number of shops should necessarily be brought down.

The Bench also ordered the extension of the ‘blue flag’ area and said, no other items but for eatables, toys, and souvenirs should be allowed to be sold on the beach in order to restore its lost glory. Justice Chandira also remarked that there was no other beach that was as clumsy as the Marina because of the shops.

The two judges had conducted a physical inspection of the beach on December 22, 2025, in the presence of GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran and other top officials from the Revenue and Police departments and suggested that the GCC submit a revised plan by reducing the number of shops on the beach.

Though the GCC on Thursday submitted the revised plan for reducing the number of shops from 1,417 to 1,006, Justice Kumar expressed displeasure over the paltry reduction and said: “If you don’t want to bring down the number of shops, leave it to us. We will fix the number. Don’t convert the beach into a bazaar.”

Thereafter, the judges went on to dictate orders fixing the maximum number of shops that could be permitted on the beach to 300 and decided to name, on January 20, the retired High Court judge under whose supervision the drawal of lots for allotment of shops could be made by the GCC.