The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Cochin Port Trust defends construction of tanks

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Thursday, Jun 30, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Cochin Port Trust defends construction of tanks

Staff Reporter

`No violation of CRZ norms at Vathuruthy'

KOCHI: If chemical storage tanks constructed on the reclaimed land were demolished, it would only ruin the progress of the port and the State in general. Maybe there are certain risks involved in all these operations and society has to live with such risks, which would be minimised by adopting adequate safety measures and controls, according to an affidavit filed by the Cochin Port Trust in the High Court on Wednesday.

In the affidavit filed in response to a writ petition seeking to prohibit the construction of storage tanks in the Vathuruthy area, the Port Trust submitted that the reclamation of land for setting up chemical tanks in the port area has been carried out under the guidelines of CRZ notification, for which it had obtained necessary permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Referring to the recent incident in which one person was killed following the collapse of a tank, the affidavit said that as the Port Trust understood, the incident happened when B.R. Petrolchem Private Limited was trying to fill the tank with water for testing. It was the usual practice to test tanks by filling water to confirm the designed capacity of the tank. Since the tank could not withstand the test, it could not be put to use. The tank was not meant to be used for storing any petroleum products. As per the plan, it was meant for storing water for fire fighting.

The port authorities said that it had not violated any of the provisions or statutes in the law relating to filling and reclaiming land in the Vathuruthy area earmarked to set up chemical storage tanks. The authorities denied the allegation that it had reclaimed 15 acres under the guise of reclaiming backwaters without obtaining permission under CRZ notification. The storage of petroleum products was permitted under CRZ notification itself and the area falling under the Willingdon Island was not one coming under ecologically sensitive area and in the Coastal Zone Management of Kerala.

The Port Trust pointed out that hazardous liquid cargo was being handled in many of the ports such as Kandla, New Mangalore, JNPT etc. The major objective of the port was to create facilities for import and export of different cargo and for the reception and handling of seagoing vessels.

The port was bound to facilitate the port users to develop port-related infrastructure and facilities so created should be used to augment the volume of trade.

The port has been reclaiming area and leasing the same for various port-related activities and therefore, there was nothing wrong in reclaiming land and giving it to tank farms and other port users, the affidavit said.

It pointed out in the affidavit that Kochi city had grown considerably in the commercial activities and as a sequel to this, the port had to keep its pace to meet the situation by providing adequate facilities within the port area.

Therefore, it should be necessary to strike a balance between the utilities provided and the human safety conditions. In many cases, society has to tolerate existence of certain utility services, the affidavit added.

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