Tallest statue to be built sans eco-clearance, peer review of seismic activity off Narmada dam: Activists

Two senior Gujarat-based environmental activists, Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah, have asked the Government of Gujarat to submit an application for environment clearance to the concerned authorities before kickstarting the construction of 182 metres high -- tallest in the world -- statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, planned about 3.2 km downstream of the Narmada dam. Asking the state government to immediately stop the construction, and suspend all activities related to it, they said, the proposed decision to go ahead with the project is “illegal”, and against the spirit of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of September 2006, as also and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Belonging to the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, a radical environmental group based in Vadodara, the activists said, what is “surprising and shocking” is that the Government of Gujarat allocated Rs 500 crore in the 2014-2015 budget, and Government of India allocated another Rs 200 crore in its 2014-2015 budget for the Statue of Unity project, “by presuming that it does not requires environment clearance from the concerned authorities”. This has been followed with the Government of Gujarat issuing a work order of Rs 2,979 crore to Larsen and Toubro for the construction of the Statue of Unity.

The activists said, what is equally surprising is that the office of the Chief Minister of Gujarat has
“no idea” about the legality of the Statue of Unity project. “That is why they have not categorically responded to any of the issues raised in our letter dated November 7, 2013; instead they directed the principal secretary of the department of forests and environment as well as the additional principal secretary of Narmada, water resources, water supply and Kalpsar department to reply”, the activists said.

Worse, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust, the implementing agency for the statue, has not responded to their queries either, while the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) – implementing the Narmada dam – claimed the he project did not require any environment clear
ance. In fact, the SSNNL refused to concede to the request for copies of minutes of all the meetings in which the decision for the Statue of Unity project, or decisions, resolutions, notifications and letters issued for the Statue of Unity project.
Opposing the Statue of Unity, the environmentalists said, the work on the project is being proposed just 3.2 km from the Shoolpaneshwar sanctuary, which is an eco-sensitive zone, and it involves “massive infrastructure.” They added, apart from the statue itself, its website states that the purpose of project was to develop a tourism spot which would include a 13 km long water body, including boating activity around the statue.
All this, they contended, will “affect the downstream river, its biodiversity, people and livelihoods and other related aspects”, adding, it is sought to be implemented without not just a comprehensive assessment of the environmental and social impacts, but also without any “public consultation”.
The environmentalists recalled, “During the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam due to hard rock digging, the seismic area already carries the burden of artificial activity in the bed rock and added load in what is deemed geologically fault line area. Public reports on geotechnical and geological studies on the proposed site have raised issues of structural stability as well as safety. This cannot be taken casually by authorities."
They added, "The seismic hazard analysis claimed to have been done by the Gujarat Government’s in-house Institute of Seismological Research or the geological and geotechnical investigation commissioned to another government institute, WAPCOS, cannot be considered credible unless peer reviewed and put in public domain.”

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Not just Haren Pandya, even Dhirubhai Shah, youngest assembly speaker, wanted to be Gujarat CM

Dhirubhai Shah with Keshubhai Patel When Keshubhai Patel was sought to be replaced by the BJP high command in 2001, everyone knows that Narendra Modi became the final choice. However, someone who was part of the top circles those days now tells me something I had no knowledge of—that the choice was between Modi and a Kutch MLA, Dhirubhai Shah, who served as the 16th Speaker from March 1998 to December 2002 during the 10th Assembly, the youngest to take the office.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Search This Blog