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Adani Group's proposed new ship recycling facility within the Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in Kutch has faced opposition from villagers during an environment public hearing held on July 30 in Tunda village of Mundra taluka.
Villagers from Navinal village have submitted their opposition during the public hearing held based on the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prepared in May 2013 by Mecon Limited, a Government of India Undertaking under the Union Ministry of Steel.
The villagers have raised several issues relating to pollution, radioactivity exposure from toxic waster of ships, proximity to protected areas and how the project would affect the livelihood of local fishing community there.
"We have submitted our opposition to the ship recycling project in Tunda in writing during the public hearing. As many as 22 issues have been raised against the project," said Gajendra Jadeja, sarpanch of Navinal village.
"The EIA report is silent on how the company plans to deal with radioactive substance during ship breaking. Also, they have not addressed how the project would impact the local fishing community here. Further, the proposed project is within few kilometers of protected forests which house some rare ayurvedic plants as per the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)," Jadeja told Business Standard.
Jadeja also claimed that the proposed site of project falls under Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) I category for which environmental clearance cannot be granted. He, however, claimed that people of other villages like Tunda and Siracha remained neutral during the meeting.
Additional collector Kutch B B Shah, who was present during the public hearing, confirmed that there was opposition from villagers with regard to the project. "As such there are two aspect of all things. Hence, there was opposition and support for the project from different sections. People from Navinal village had opposed the project and submitted written objection to the proposed project," Shah said.
He explained that the public hearing was to get the views of the people in the region on the proposed new project as per law. "All the views will be compiled by the officials of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and sent to the expert appraisal committee (EAC) for further consideration," Shah added.
Advisor to the Adani Group, former Gujarat bureaucrat, P N Roy Chowdhary, who was present during the public hearing could not be contacted for comments.
According to draft EIA report for Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZL) propose to set up ship recycling facility adjacent to the existing Mundra West Port in Mundra taluka of Kutch district. The proposed project will recycle about 40 ships annually to recover about 266,000 tonne of steel, cast iron, non-ferrous metals, reusable machinery and other items. The proposed ship recycling facility will handle ships of Light Displacement Tonnage (LDT) 4000 tonne -16,000 tonne, the report stated.
Mundra West Port is located near Vandh village in Mundra at an aerial distance of about 16 km south-west of Mundra town. The project is within the port limits notified as Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The EIA report stated "The proposed ship recycling facility measures 40.7432 ha. At present most of the land is still submerged and only a minor portion is located in the inter-tidal zone. The land for the project is being created by dumping dredge spoils, generated due to expansion of Mundra West Port, up to 7.0 m above the chart datum."
The report also concluded, "Any developmental project, brings with it hosts of environmental consequences. The present project is also no exception. However, attempt has been made to minimise the environmental consequences and maximise the project benefit by integrating environmental aspects into project planning and operations." The proposed project will not involve any acquisition of agricultural land, grazing land or homestead, it further concluded.
Villagers from Navinal village have submitted their opposition during the public hearing held based on the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) prepared in May 2013 by Mecon Limited, a Government of India Undertaking under the Union Ministry of Steel.
The villagers have raised several issues relating to pollution, radioactivity exposure from toxic waster of ships, proximity to protected areas and how the project would affect the livelihood of local fishing community there.
"We have submitted our opposition to the ship recycling project in Tunda in writing during the public hearing. As many as 22 issues have been raised against the project," said Gajendra Jadeja, sarpanch of Navinal village.
"The EIA report is silent on how the company plans to deal with radioactive substance during ship breaking. Also, they have not addressed how the project would impact the local fishing community here. Further, the proposed project is within few kilometers of protected forests which house some rare ayurvedic plants as per the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)," Jadeja told Business Standard.
Jadeja also claimed that the proposed site of project falls under Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) I category for which environmental clearance cannot be granted. He, however, claimed that people of other villages like Tunda and Siracha remained neutral during the meeting.
Additional collector Kutch B B Shah, who was present during the public hearing, confirmed that there was opposition from villagers with regard to the project. "As such there are two aspect of all things. Hence, there was opposition and support for the project from different sections. People from Navinal village had opposed the project and submitted written objection to the proposed project," Shah said.
He explained that the public hearing was to get the views of the people in the region on the proposed new project as per law. "All the views will be compiled by the officials of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and sent to the expert appraisal committee (EAC) for further consideration," Shah added.
Advisor to the Adani Group, former Gujarat bureaucrat, P N Roy Chowdhary, who was present during the public hearing could not be contacted for comments.
According to draft EIA report for Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZL) propose to set up ship recycling facility adjacent to the existing Mundra West Port in Mundra taluka of Kutch district. The proposed project will recycle about 40 ships annually to recover about 266,000 tonne of steel, cast iron, non-ferrous metals, reusable machinery and other items. The proposed ship recycling facility will handle ships of Light Displacement Tonnage (LDT) 4000 tonne -16,000 tonne, the report stated.
Mundra West Port is located near Vandh village in Mundra at an aerial distance of about 16 km south-west of Mundra town. The project is within the port limits notified as Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The EIA report stated "The proposed ship recycling facility measures 40.7432 ha. At present most of the land is still submerged and only a minor portion is located in the inter-tidal zone. The land for the project is being created by dumping dredge spoils, generated due to expansion of Mundra West Port, up to 7.0 m above the chart datum."
The report also concluded, "Any developmental project, brings with it hosts of environmental consequences. The present project is also no exception. However, attempt has been made to minimise the environmental consequences and maximise the project benefit by integrating environmental aspects into project planning and operations." The proposed project will not involve any acquisition of agricultural land, grazing land or homestead, it further concluded.
