Setback to Essar? Green Tribunal appoints committee to ascertain "destruction" to Gujarat's eco-sensitive zone

By Our Representative
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Pune Bench, has appointed a three-member court commission comprising of three Government of India officials to ascertain the environmental destruction, if any, caused by the Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd to the Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary, situated in the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat.
One of India’s topmost corporate houses, Essar has been setting up what it calls “a world-class marine infrastructure project with a state-of-the-art material handling facility at Salaya”, with the capability of handling 20 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of cargo. The project is said to cost around Rs 1,000 crore.
Located in Salaya harbour, which is naturally protected by two islands – Kalubhar Tapu and Dhani Be – the jetty would be spread over 320,000 square metres. Its dry bulk facility proposes to handle the import of dry bulk cargo like coal, limestone, fertilisers and bauxite.

Those who will form part of the court commission are – director, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a senior scientist of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and director, Marine National Park and Sanctuary, Jamnagar. It has been asked to submit its report before July 26, 2017.
Interpreted as a big jolt to one of India’s most powerful corporate houses, the NGT bench consisting of Justice UD Salvi and Dr Ajay Deshpande in an order said that the “local investigation” should be carried out to ascertain the extent of constructions going on and carried out by Essar.
Especially seeking to know the how much of “soil-bund” had been constructed, the order also wants the team to find out the navigation route as well as location of the constructions in the Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary, possible impact on the tidal water current, and destruction of mangroves, if any, in and around the Salaya Creek.
The order came in response to an application by the Salaya Fishermen’s Association, which claimed that Essar had undertaken “illegal” constructions by Essar encroaching upon the protected the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary, resulting into destruction of mangroves, obstruction to inter-tidal water in Salaya Creek, which is harmful to environment and biodiversity.
The Essar Bulk Terminal, however, said that it did not carry out any illegal construction.
Appearing on behalf of the Salaya Fishermen’s Association, advocate Asim Sarode submitted before the NGT that the notification dated August 22, 2013 declared an area admeasuring 326.26 sq.km around of Salaya Marine National Park and Sanctuary as ESZ, of which 208.58 sq km was towards landward side, 105.14 sq km towards seaward site, and 12.54 sq km area was covered by rivers.

Hence, Sarode argued, the communication dated April 28, 2014 by the chief conservator of forests, Marine National Park, Jamnagar, was “not a complete disclosure of the facts”, and that the Essar Bulk Terminal had not produced any layout or sanction-plan for the construction of the project.
On examining the letter, NGT decided to ascertain the exact location of the Essar Bulk Terminal where the proposed marine facilities, including conveyor corridor and jetty, were being constructed.
A preliminary examination of the letter suggested that the nearest point of the ESZ from the jetty was just 150 meters, and the distance of 4.6 hectare forest land diverted for the purpose was approximately 1.9 km from the nearest point of national park and sanctuary.

Comments

Australia least prepared to fight Hindu 'extremism', admits diaspora NGO group

Tiranga rally in Sydney: Cause of stir among diaspora By Our Representative The Australian Alliance Against Hate and Violence (AAAHAV) has said that Australia is “least prepared” to counter the allegedly “rising threat of Hindu far right extremism”. Calling upon politicians, federal and state governments to “urgently recognise the threat far-right Hindu extremism”, it asks “to take concrete steps to address this threat.”

Young environmentalist's arrest 'sinister', even parents not told of her whereabouts

By Our Representative The Coalition for Environmental Justice in India (CEJI), a civil society network, has said that it is “highly disturbing” that Disha Ravi, a young woman climate activist from Bengaluru was “picked up” in what is referred to as a “closely guarded operation” of the Delhi police. Disha, 21, has been remanded to police custody for five days after she was taken from Bengaluru to Delhi.

Mukesh Ambani's earnings during Covid 'can lift' 40% informal workers out of poverty

By Dr Gian Singh* The Inequality Virus Report released by Oxfam, a non-profit organization, on January 25, 2021 on the growing inequalities in different parts of the world, sheds light on the growing economic, educational, healthcare and gender inequalities in India. The report has revealed that the wealth of billionaires has increased by 35 per cent during the lockdown period in the country.

US forensic revelation enough evidence to release Sudha Bharadwaj, others: Civicus

Counterview Desk Civicus, a Johannesburg-based global alliance of civil society organisations and activists claiming to have presence in 175 countries with 9,000 members and working for strengthening citizen action, has sought immediate release of Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested in 2018 under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and accused of having links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

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.

Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives

By Shamsul Islam* First time in the history of independent India, the in-charge minister of the Cultural Ministry in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel, has glorified MS Golwalkar, second supremo of the RSS and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote : “Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #MSGolwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations.”

'Bird, take me flying with you too!' Being Devangana Kalita

By Ashley Tellis* I first met Devangana Kalita in a first year English Honours classroom in which I entered to teach Charles Dickens’ Hard Times in Miranda House, Delhi University, in 2008. She was one of the smartest students in the class – Devangana smiled the most and had the brightest twinkle in her eyes of the girls in the class. A middle class girl – Kalita comes from a family in upper Assam, the Kalitas along with the Brahmins dominate Assam (the Bamon-Kolita nexus as it is called) – in an elite all women’s institution known for a feminist, rebellious history. Like all institutions, it was repressive; like all all-women institutions, particularly so. But Miranda House had met its match in Devangana. She organised, protested, all within the democratic tradition resisted. The seeds of Pinjra Tod, the group Devangana was to eventually co-found, and which now finds her jailed for as absurd a reason as inciting a ‘riot’ were already sown in that first year. By the third year, they

20% of FIRs against journalists in 2020 alone, targeted attacks in 2021 'too many to count'

Counterview Desk Condemning what it calls “alarming rise in state repression and clampdown on news outlets and journalists” that “expose” the anti-people nature of the establishment, India's top civil society network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has demanded “immediate release of arrested journalists, withdrawal of arbitrary charges and protection of media persons facing threats.”

Whither right to food? Social security scheme allocation for woman, child 'reduced'

Counterview Desk Pointing out that women and children have been ignored in the Union Budget 2021-22, the advocacy group Right to Food Campaign (RtFC) has said that the Government of India should have taken into account the fact that even after the lockdown was lifted, distress among marginalized communities continues, with people having lower incomes and reduced food consumption.

NAPM extends support to Indian, Aussie citizen groups 'opposing' Adani ventures

#StopAdani action in Australia Counterview Desk The civil rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), extending solidarity to the global campaign by the Youth Action to Stop Adani (YAStA), held in recently in Australia and India, has said that the effort was to bring more attention to the struggle aboriginal, indigenous peoples, farmers, working class and other oppressed communities against allegedly anti-people multinational corporate conglomerates.

Counterview

Search This Blog