Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Vizhinjam seaport: plea for detailed EIA

Thiruvananthapuram: The Watchdog Committee on Climate Change, a people's forum for conducting studies on climate change and ecological issues related to livelihood and protection of the environment, has urged the Ministry of Environment and Forests to order a thorough Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the land being acquired for infrastructure development of the Vizhinjam seaport.

In a memorandum submitted to Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, committee convener Mulloor Surendran called on the Union government to restrain the State government from acquiring the land that provided livelihood for the people of the area.

He said the ambitious project had given rise to serious concerns over its environmental impact. “The Watchdog Committee sought details of the above project under the Right to Information Act but the authorities have given only partial answers. Moreover, certain important details have not been revealed. This is a cause for concern and anxiety for the local people.”

Mr. Surendran said studies conducted by the committee had revealed that the project would cause serious environmental destruction and have an impact on the livelihood and food security of the people. The memorandum pointed out that the implementation of the project as conceived by the State government would endanger drinking water sources of the people in the project area. The special land acquisition authority appointed by the State had already started acquiring the water-rich lowlands of Kottukal. This was done without conducting the EIA study, it observed.

Mr. Surendran said local land owners were only too willing to give away their land in exchange for the high price offered by the government (Rs.2-3 lakh per cent now for land which had a market price of Rs.30,000 only prior to the announcement of the project). He, however, said the land owners were not aware of the possible implications, because no EIA had been conducted.

The landless people who form the majority would be deprived of their livelihood and the existing water sources, he said.

The memorandum observed that there were only a few water sources remaining in the nearby panchayats, such as Gangayar Canal and Mulloor Canal in Vizhinjam and Chappath Canal in Kottukal. If the project was implemented, all these water sources would disappear, it warned.

Mr. Surendran said the Sea Port Authority had since informed that the EIA was being conduced by a Chennai-based company. He, however, said the special tahsildar had already acquired the land without the EIA study and started construction in the wetlands of Mulloor. This, he observed, was a gross violation of human rights of the people. “Development should not be at the cost of the people – the poor and most needy.”

The committee felt that it was possible to redesign the project without seriously ruining the local ecology. It suggested that the warehouse be shifted to an elevated, less ecologically sensitive area. Instead of building new roads through the lowlands, the existing road could be widened or new roads built without affecting the ecologically sensitive lands. “Only a thorough and detailed EIA can ensure the safety of the local ecology and livelihood of the locals.”

The committee proposed a detailed EIA by a multi-disciplinary agency to protect the vital interests and basic human rights of the vulnerable sections in the project area.

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