Company Name : Generic Source : Economic Times

THE ministry of environment and forests has accused Adani Group's Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone of destruction of mangroves in Gujarat. 

 

In a showcause notice to Mundra Port, the ministry said it has violated the Coastal Regulation Zone and not met the conditions for environmental clearance. The ministry has given it 15 days to reply. Failure to respond could result in cancellation of environmental clearances for the West and North port and the township project, as well as dismantling of all reclamations carried out in the mangrove area. 

The ministry has also suggested that Mundra should bear the expenses for planting trees in an additional 1,000 hectares of land in and around the project site. The showcause followed a site visit by ministry officials investigating a compliant filed by Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti which had alleged "gross violation" of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). 

"We are studying the issues raised by the ministry of environment and forests and will respond to them in due course of time," a company spokesperson said. "Operations at Mundra are normal," the spokesperson added. 

The official site report found that the large scale reclamation using dredged material was being carried out in the area behind the North and West ports. The project has deployed a dredging disposal pipeline, which was found to be interfering with the tidal waves leading to adverse impact on the mangroves. "Pipeline has been obstructing the tidal flow due to which mangrove stretches on the western and northern port side have been seriously affected and at several places the mangroves have dried up," the notice said. The mangroves are also being adversely affected by the reclamations along the creeks. These reclamations are obstructing the creek systems and the natural flow of seawater in the area. 

This is in violation of a condition of the environmental clearance granted to the project in January 2009. The clearance stipulated that "no existing mangroves shall be destroyed duringtheconstructionoroperation of the project". Neither was the developer permitted to fill up the creek or undertake reclamation of the creek. The company has also gone ahead with development of an airport close to the sea shore. Adani is developing the airport without environmental clearance, though it got clearance from the civil aviation ministry in October 2008.