Gujarat's biggest China-backed steel plant "initiated" by CM off Mundra has no eco-clearance

Is Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani seeking to set up Gujarat's biggest China-backed steel plant in Mundra, Kutch district, without verifying that the promoter private company has not taken any environmental clearance? It would seem is, if a letter written by well-known environmental expert, Mahesh Pandya, to CK Mishra, secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India is any indication.
Heading Gujarat's environmental NGO, Pandya said in his letter, Rupani's move to inaugurate setting up of the Rs 15,000 crore plant last week was a clear "violation or breach of Notification SO 1533 relating Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) dated September 14, 2006." Rupani's "ground-breaking" ceremony, which took place on January 23 near Kundrodi village, was for an India-China joint venture. It's initial investment would be Rs 6,000 crore.
The Gujarat government allocated 213 hectares (ha) land between Ratadiya and Kundrodi villages for the project, after the Chinese Sunrise Group signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, held in January 2017. The Chinese steel major is operating through a subsidiary, set up in June last year Ahmedabad, Chromeni Steel Private Limited, half of whose directors are Chinese.
Referring to reports in local media about the "groundbreaking ceremony", Pandya said, Rupani unveiled the plaque of the "biggest steel plant of Gujarat", even though "it has been clearly stated in the Clause 6 of the Application for Prior Environment Clearance as per the Notification SO 1533, dated September 14, 2006 issued by the MoEFCC that no activity about the project can be initiated without obtaining environment clearance."
Pointing towards "violation or breach of relevant law or rule by the chief minister", Pandya said, so far no "Environmental Impact Assessment report has been prepared", nor have "any Environment Public Hearing or any Socio-economic Survey have been conducted" for the high profile project.
Pandya said, "In the absence of this, how and wherefrom the basic needs such as electricity or water, for sustenance of the project, will be sourced? Since no such basic inputs have been tied-up or finalized, how can the groundbreaking ceremony be performed? This goes to mean that environment clearance will anyhow be surely obtained for this project."
Pandya further said, "This also goes to imply that Notification 2006, SO 1533 regarding Environment Impact Assessment, which is applicable for industries, is a mere formality and is meaningless or any procedure being followed under this notification is a farce."
He advised political leaders, especially ministers, that they should "seek information as to whether environmental clearance for the industrial unit/ project has been received before performing any inaugural ceremony, and if such clearance has not been obtained, then they should avoid or desist themselves from inaugurating such projects, or else wrong message may thereby be conveyed to the people or the public at large."
Pandya has forwarded copies of the letter to Rita Khanna, director, Impact Assessment, Government of India, MoEFCC; Sharath Kumar Palleria, member secretary (Industry-I), scientist, Government of India; and concerned officials of the Government of Gujarat.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

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.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

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.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog