Andhra Pradesh - Guntur   

SEZ along Nizampatnam Port poses threat to mangroves

Ramesh Susarla

Proposed port city will come in 2,770 acres of reserve forest area

GUNTUR: Centuries-old mangrove reserve forest (RF) in Repalle range in Guntur district will get wiped out from the estuary of river Krishna if the Special Economic Zone proposed along Nizampatnam Port becomes a reality.

The mangrove forest was the saviour of thousands of people in the district during the recent Tsunami and several cyclones, as it had the special capacity to withstand such natural calamities or reduce their impact on inland areas. The proposed port city will come in 2,770 acres of reserve forest area of Thungabhadra Kalava and Palarevu creek.

The State Government has already demarcated the proposed area and sought details from the Forest Department.

The department had sent the details in the first week of February showing the area to be left out for Coastal Regulation Zone (500 metres) and RF area. The area identified for the port city is in Nizampatnam Harbour mouth area (1,800 acres) and at the Dindi Pogaru mouth (970 acres) of Nizampatnam forest beat.

Mangroves come under the highest category of compensation for occupying them as envisaged by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, if it permits change of its RF status.

For each acre the developer will be required to pay Rs. 9 lakhs in addition to acquiring equivalent extent of land and handing over to the Forest Department, while meeting entire expenses to raise thick forest in that land.

The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation had been working in the region to preserve about 70 plant species found in these forests, belonging to 12 families.

The most dominating among them is the family of Rhizophoraceae, which includes the specie like Rhizophora, Bruguiera, Ceriops and Kandellia.

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

Stories in this Section

SEZ along Nizampatnam Port poses threat to mangroves
GMC to get land for dumping waste

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu