Ahead of Modi's controversial statement on "Jayanthi tax", MoEF granted eco-clearance to major port in Gujarat

By A Representative
In a major boost to Gujarat, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, has given environmental and coastal regulatory zone (CRZ) clearance for the development of all-weather port at Chhara village, Junagarh District, to its developers, the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. While giving the clearance, provided a week before Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi made the controversial statement, accusing former Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan of charging what he called "Jayanthi tax" and derailing many a project, the MoEF agreed with the developers' view that the location of the site “is not an eco-sensitive area”, and the “nearest wetland is about three km away”.
In its letter dated January 6, 2014, granting environmental clearance, the MoEF said, the environmental appraisal committee (EAC) “visited the site and observed that the site is in a largely single crop agriculture land”, and that the environmental appraisal committee (EIA) report on the project was “based on three-season data.” The MoEF observed, “EAC in its meetings held in May 2013 and June 2013 noted that the nearest environment zone, Gir forests, is 22 km away.”
Suggesting that “the additional information” was handed over, and clarified, the MoEF said, response on the issues raised in an appeal to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) helped made a few minor changes. The EAC approved the project on September 21, 2013. Development of the port is proposed in two phases. In the first phase, the developers propose to develop facilities to handle imported coal at 8 metric million tonnes per annum.
The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) issued letter of intent (LoI) to the Shapoorji Pallonji group in April 2008 for development of all-weather, direct-berthing port and create necessary infrastructure at Simar. But subsequent investigations at the Simar Port site (Khada village) revealed adverse offshore geo-technical data which led to the conclusion that port cannot be developed at Simar. Hence, the developers then identified another site, 45 km on the west of the Simar site, near Chhara village.

Before the MoEF granted clearance, the Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) recommended the project was not near any no eco-sensitive area, and the nearest eco-sensitive zone was not within 10 km radius. The project's public hearing was held on November 11, 2010 at MM High School, at Sarkhadi-Chhara Circle, Kodinar. The issues raised included employment, impact on water bodies, conservation of shark whales and sea turtles. The matter went to the NTG, which in its order dated April 22, 2012, which also did not find anything objectionable in the project.
While granting environmental clearance, the MoEF wanted the developers to comply by certain conditions, including obtaining “consent for establishment” from the State Pollution Control Board under the air and water Act, development of rainwater harvesting “with respect to maximum rainfall”, coal be “kept under moist conditions using water sprinklers”, there should not be any disturbance to the canal joining the two water bodies nearby, implementation of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) action plan, development of greenbelt, including mangrove plantation in 200 hectares area”, and so on.
Following the environmental clearance, the Shapoorji Pallonji group has applied to the MoEF for yet another clearance – to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal in Gujarat at the cost of Rs 5,400 crore.Proposed to be set up at a 50:50 equity partnership with the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), about 20 km from the port site, while the first phase of the LNG terminal proposes capacity of 2.5 MMPTA, in the second phase it would be expanded to 10 MMPTA.

Comments

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

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.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

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

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah 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".

Beyond sattvik: Purity, caste and the politics of the Indian kitchen

By Rajiv Shah A few week ago, I was forwarded an article that appeared in the British weekly The Economist . Titled “Caste and cuisine: From honeycomb curry to blood fry: India’s ‘untouchable’ cooking”, it took me back to what I had blogged about what was called a “ sattvik food festival”, an annual event organised by former Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad professor Anil Gupta.

Search This Blog