Gujarat govt "drops" its own plan to develop Bhavnagar port to help Dholera SIR off Gulf of Khambhat

By Rajiv Shah
In a major decision, the Gujarat government has dropped its plan to develop Bhavnagar port as an alternative to the Dholera port in the Gulf of Khambhat. It had had given up Dholera port following its decision to go ahead with the Kalpasar project as a huge sweet water lake by damming the. The state government had offered the top state industrial group, Adanis, to develop Bhavnagar port as alternative to Dholera port, which the Adanis were to develop in association with the JK Group, to provide Dholera special investment region (SIR) a major boost. Dholera SIR, to be developed south of Ahmedabad district, off Gulf of Khambhat, is proposed as a modern industrial-urban centre. To be developed in three phases, each of 10 years, so far no investors have shown interest in Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's ambitious SIR.

In 2011, in an effort to provide a major boost to the future of industrialization along the Gulf of Khambhat, the state government had decided to allocate alternative sites near Bhavnagar and Dahej to the Adani Group and the Infrastructure Lease and Financial Services (IL&FS), respectively, for developing new ports. The state government’s decision came after a final nod to drop development of ports at Dholera and Khambhat, for which letters of intent (LoIs) were earlier issued to the Adanis and the IL&FS.
An internal official note of the state ports and transport department, prepared in August 2011, had said the two developers had “extended the Bank Guarantee towards LoIs to confirm their interest in development of ports at alternate locations.” The note had added, the Narmada, Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpasar department had “approved modification in Kalpasar dam alignment”, leading to the need to relocate of Dholera and Khambhat ports “on the downstream of the proposed dam” – at Bhavnagar and Dahej.

However, the state government has now topsy-turvied its own decision, saying that Pipavav port, situated about 160 kilometres west of the Dholera SIR, would be more suitable for investors wanting to transport goods overseas from the SIR, instead of Bhavnagar, which is just about 65 km away. This has been made clear in the freshly prepared proposed Environment Impact Assessment report for Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), prepared by the Senes Consultants India Pvt Ltd, prepared by the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd.

Rejecting the Bhavnagar port plan, the consultants, who have based their facts on information provided by the Gujarat government, have said, “The nearest port to the Dholera SIR is at Bhavnagar, at a distance of about 65 km. This port has a limited draft of four metres and is currently not operational.” They add, “The decision to go ahead with Kalpasar has meant that Dholera port would no longer be developed. Moreover, the draft at Bhavnagar is shallow and for all practical purposes the Dholera SIR will be catered to through Pipavav port.”

Connection between Dholera SIR and Pipavav

“Currently, the draft of Pipavav port is expected to be increased allowing the DSIR industries to export in larger volumes and reduce the logistics cost. Moreover, it is proposed to augment the capacities of Pipavav port and develop the port primarily for the purpose of handling containerized cargo. This proposed development is in line with the nature of industries proposed to be located in the Dholera SIR. Bulk of the production will required containerized transportation facilities”, the consultants said.
They added, “Pipavav port is proposed to be connected to the Dholera SIR through a dedicated toll road which will help in catering to the export-import needs of industries located in the Dholera SIR. This toll road is expected to be a key component in strengthening the connectivity of the Dholera SIR with its only port. In the absence of this toll road, the inputs for industries located in the Dholera SIR imported from other countries may reach the industry late. Absence of an expressway will also increase the operational cost of transporting goods from port to the DSIR.”
Meanwhile, “Indian Railways are doubling the existing BG line from Pipavav port northwards, which will increase rail capacity from there to Dholera and thus increase the speed and reliability of freight services to the DSIR and thus strengthen its attractiveness as an industrial location.” As for road connectivity, “government has plans to develop a six lane dual carriageway highway, with provision for up gradation to 10 lanes, between Dholera SIR and Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar and upgrade the existing National Highways and rail routes to Pipavav Port.”

Comments

'Enough evidence' in Indian tradition to support legal basis for same-sex marriage

By Iyce Malhotra, Joseph Mathai, Sandeep Chachra* The ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage provides space for much-needed conversations on issues that have hitherto remained “invisible” or engaged with patriarchal locker room humour. We must recognize that people with diverse sexualities and complex gender identities have faced discrimination, stigma and decades of oppression. Their issues have mainly remained buried in dominant social discourse, and many view them with deep insecurities.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Victim of communal violence, Christians in Manipur want Church leadership to speak up

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ* The first eleven days of May 2023 have, in many ways, been a defining period of Indian history! Plenty has happened in a rapid-fire stream of events. Ironically, each one of them are indicators of how crimes and the criminalisation of society has become the ‘new norm’; these include, the May Day rallies with a focus on the four labour codes which are patently against the rights of workers; the U S Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its Annual Report on 1 May stating that conditions for religious freedom in India “continued to worsen in 2022”; the continued protest by the Indian women wrestlers at Jantar Mantar for the expulsion of the chief of the Indian Wrestlers Federation on very serious allegations; the Elections in Karnataka on 10 May (with communalism and corruption as the mainstay); the release of the fake, derogative and insensitive film ‘The Kerala Story’; the release of World Free Press Index on 3 May which places India

Polygamy in India "down" in 45 yrs: Muslims' from 5.7 to 2.55%, Hindus' 5.8 to 1.77%, "common" in SCs, STs

By Rajiv Shah Amidst All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) justifying polygamy, saying it “meets social and moral needs and the provision for it stems from concern and sympathy for women”, facts suggest the the practice is down from 5.7 per cent of Muslim families in 1961 to 2.55 per cent in 2006.

India joining US sponsored trade pillar to hurt Indian farmers, 'promote' GM seeds, food

Counterview Desk As many as 32 civil society organisations (CSOs), in a letter to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and India joining the trade pillar, have said that its provisions will allow the US to ensure a more favourable regulatory regime “for enhancing its exports of genetically modified (GM) seeds and GM food”, underlining, it will “significantly hurt the livelihoods of Indian farmers.”

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Modi govt 'wholly untrustworthy' on Covid data, censored criticism on pandemic: Lancet

By Rajiv Shah* One of the world’s most prestigious health journals, brought out from England, has sharply criticised the Narendra Modi government for being “wholly untrustworthy on Covid-19 health data”, stating, the “official government figures place deaths at more than 530 000, while WHO excess death estimates for 2020 and 2021 are near 4·7 million.”

Undermining law, breastfeeding? Businesses 'using' celebrities to promote baby food

By Rajiv Shah* A report prepared by the top child welfare NGO, Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), has identified as many as 15 offenders allegedly violating the Indian baby food law, the Infant Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992, and Amendment Act 2003 (IMS Act), stating, compliance with the law “seems to be dwindling by the day.”

Delhi demolitions for G-20 summit: Whither sabka saath, sabka vikas?, asks NAPM

By Our Representative Well-known civil rights network, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), even as expressing solidarity with “thousands of traumatized residents of Tughlakabad and some other bastis in New Delhi whose homes have been demolished and whose lives have been ravaged both prior to as well as in the lead-up to the G-20 Summit”, has said this is in utter disregard to “their minimum well-being and gross violation of their rights.”

Search This Blog