Environmental NGO 'forces' Gujarat govt to postpone public hearing of Nayara Energy

Mahesh Pandya (right)

By Our Representative
Gujarat’s top environmental NGO Paryavaran Mitra has claimed success for forcing the Gujarat government to postpone environmental public hearings (EPHs), which were scheduled for July 28-29 in Jamnagar and Devbhoomi Dwarka district, for Nayara Energy Ltd. The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) had announced the dates for the hearings for the expansion of Nayara Energy’s plant, located between the two districts, last month.
Paryavaran Mitra director Mahesh Pandya said, he had made the representation against the backdrop of the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, which has now become an all-Gujarat phenomenon, and Saurashtra regions, which include the two districts in question. Citing the Unlock 2.0 guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, Pandya insisted, they clearly prohibit public gatherings, adding, thousands are known to gather in such hearings.
In a letter to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, Pandya had said, on June 25 he had drawn the attention of the Jamnagar and Devbhoomi Dwarka district collectors, as also senior GPCB officials towards the need to postpone the hearing, yet no action was taken. “Our experience suggests that during such hearings anywhere between 50 and 5,000 people participate”, the letter added.
“Even in a tragic event like the death of a person only 20 persons are allowed to remain present”, the letter said, adding, “During wedding, only 50 people are allowed to.” Against this backdrop, the NGO had asked the chief minister to direct the GPCB, which comes under the state environment, forest and climate change department, to stop the hearing, as, among other things, it “violated” the state home department order issued on June 30 on public gatherings.

Anand Yagnik

Update: Meanwhile, local villagers of Devbhumi Dwarka district have claimed that Paryavaran Mitra is not alone claiming for the postponement of the public hearing. In a letter to Pandya, sarpanch, Kanchanpur village panchayat under Jam Khambhaliya taluka, with a copy to Counterview, said, it would be wrong to say that he is not alone in taking the credit for the postponement.
The letter said, the villagers had represented to the authorities, including to the member-secretary, GPCB, fseveral times between July 16 and 23, 2020 for postponing the public hearing, adding, this was done with "strong support" from senior Gujarat High Court advocate Anand Yagnik, who had filed also a petition against the efforts of Nayara Energy to bypass public hearing for the plant's expansion.

Comments

Babubhai Vaghela said…

Hats Off for this Great Achievement.

July 25, 2020

Gujarat's high profile GIFT city 'fails to attract' funds, India's FinTech investment dips

By Rajiv Shah While the Narendra Modi government may have gone out of the way to promote the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), sought to be developed as India’s formidable financial technology hub off the state capital Gandhinagar, just 20 km from Ahmedabad, a recent report , prepared by Tracxn Technologies suggests that neither of the two cities figure in the list of top FinTech funding receiving centres.

Why Ramdev, vaccine producing pharma companies and government are all at fault

By Colin Gonsalves* It was perhaps Ramdev’s closeness to government which made him over-confident. According to reports he promoted a cure for Covid, thus directly contravening various provisions of The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954. Persons convicted of such offences may not get away with a mere apology and would suffer imprisonment.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Malayalam movie Aadujeevitham: Unrealistic, disservice to pastoralists

By Rosamma Thomas* The Malayalam movie 'Aadujeevitham' (Goat Life), currently screening in movie theatres in Kerala, has received positive reviews and was featured also on the website of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The story is based on a 2008 novel by Benyamin, and relates the real-life story of a job-seeker from Kerala tricked into working in slave conditions in a goat farm in Saudi Arabia.

Decade long Modi rule 'undermines' people's welfare and democracy

By Ram Puniyani* Modi has many ploys up his sleeves when it comes to propaganda. On one hand he is turning many a pronouncements of Congress in the communal direction, on the other he is claiming that whatever has been achieved during last ten years of his rule is phenomenal, but it is still a ‘trailer’ and the bigger things are in the offing as he claims to be coming to power yet again in 2024. While his admirers are ga ga about his achievements, the truth lies somewhere else.

Belgian report alleges MNC Etex responsible for asbestos pollution in Madhya Pradesh town Kymore: COP's Geneva meet

By Our Representative A comprehensive Belgian report has held MNC Etex , into construction business and one of the richest, responsible for asbestos pollution in Kymore, an industrial town in in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh. The report provides evidence from the ground on how Kymore’s dust even today is “annoying… it creeps into your clothes, you have to cough it”, saying “It can be deadly.”

Plagued by opportunism, adventurism, tailism, Left 'doesn't matter' in India

By Harsh Thakor* 2024 elections are starting when India appears to be on the verge of turning proto-fascist. The Hindutva saffron brigade has penetrated in every sphere of Indian life, every social order, destroying and undermining the very fabric of the Constitution.

Can universal basic income help usher in sustainable egalitarianism in India?

By Prof RR Prasad* The ongoing debate on application of Article 39(b) in the Supreme Court on redistribution of community material resources to subserve common good and for ushering in an egalitarian society has opened new vistas wherein possible available alternative solutions could be explored.

Press freedom? 28 journalists killed since 2014, nine currently in jail

By Kirity Roy* On the eve of the Press Freedom Day on 3rd of May, the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) shared its anxiety with the broader civil society platforms as the situation of freedom of any form of expression became grimmer in India day by day. This day was intended to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of press and to pay tribute to pressmen who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Ahmedabad's Muslim ghetto voters 'denied' right to exercise franchise?

By Tanushree Gangopadhyay* Sections of Gujarat Muslims, with a population of 10 per cent of the State, have been allegedly denied their rights to exercise their franchise in the Juhapura area of Ahmedabad.

Search This Blog