The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Detailed environment study on Sethu project sought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Detailed environment study on Sethu project sought

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 26. Fishermen, environmentalists and scientists under the banner of Coastal Action Network today demanded a detailed environment impact assessment (EIA) and cost-benefit analysis study of the Sethu Samudram project.

Disputing the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute's (NEERI) rapid EIA report, the group led by the CAN convenor, Jesu Rethinam, told newspersons here that the impact on environment and loss to the fishing community could be assessed only after a detailed study. They also raised doubts about the economic benefit of the project, both in terms of the ships saving on fuel and time by using the channel around the peninsula and avoiding going round Sri Lanka to sail between the Indian coasts.

Minutes sought

The CAN also sought minutes of the six public hearings conducted recently . Claiming the entire fishing community was opposed to the project, Ms. Rethinam said the minutes were being sought to ensure that the views of the fishermen representatives against the project were recorded.

Questioning the logic behind describing the hearings as incomplete, she said she was confident that the fishermen would organise themselves better for the public hearings that were being reconvened from November 19. The organisation had written to the Tuticorin Port Trust, the nodal agency for the project, seeking copies of the previous environment reports .

Urging the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board not to issue the environment clearance, Ossie Fernandes of CAN said: "If we don't get the minutes, then we will go to the court (of law)."

`No scientific basis'

The demand for a detailed EIA, if accepted, could virtually mean putting the project, which aims to create a navigable channel for cargo ships to sail around the peninsula tip, on the back burner. M. Arunachalam, reader at the Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Environment Sciences, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, said the study could range from three to six years.

He said the rapid EIA of NEERI was based on various assumptions and previous reports, whereas a detailed study involved recording the likely changes based on observations over a period of time.

Alleging that the NEERI study lacked scientific basis, former principal scientist of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, R.S. Lalmohan, said the rapid EIA had not assessed the potential impact of the dredged material on the flora and fauna in the disposal site.

The NEERI report, according to Ramesh of Doctors for Safe Environment, was silent on the impact of volcanic eruptions on the project. "We have asked the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the TNPCB to reject the report," he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu