THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If Union Minister for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh’s promise that the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Vizhinjam seaport project would be completed in one year is to come true, quite a few recommendations made by the Expert Appraisal Committee of Ramesh’s own Ministry would have to be trashed at one go.The 101st meeting of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) committee held on May 31 in New Delhi - the latest one - had merely approved a ‘project-based ToR’ for the Rs 6,000-crore project and that too in ‘public interest.’ But equally importantly, it had also set a 14-point additional terms of reference (ToR) for conducting the EIA; the committee’s dissatisfaction with the project site (at Mulloor near Vizhinjam) and its demand that Kerala should clarify on this being just one of the 14.One important observation the committee has made in this regard is that if the project area falls in the high erosion zone, ‘’the project is not permissible as per the CRZ Notification, 2011.’’ All three sites originally considered for the project should be re-examined and given marks on a 0-100 scale along with the financial implications of dredging and land-filling in each spot.The earlier demand that the project’s impact on fisheries in the region should be examined has been repeated. There is also one demand that the State Government could take umbrage at; ‘’Marine traffic should not affect others, submit analysis.’’Earlier too, the MoEF had recommended that overlapping interests vis a vis other ports or proposed ones should be avoided. This, in essence, would mean that Kerala will have to prove that the pie, container traffic in this case, is big enough for everyone to dip their finger in.In addition to this, the State has also been asked to submit details of the types of cargo that will be handled by Vizhinjam and the recommendations of the State Coastal Zone Management Authority. The Committee, once again, has laid emphasis on how the project would affect fisheries in the region.The committee has asked Kerala to conduct a Marine Environment Impact Assessment and submit a report with budgetary provisions. Kerala, in fact, has to submit a detailed report on the fishing practices in the area, including the types of vessels used, the regular catch and even whether the beaches are used for fish landing.Express had reported on June 11 that the MoEF had issued only a ‘project-specific ToR’ and not a ‘site-specific ToR’ and that this conditional clearance would delay the project.On Monday, Jairam Ramesh had visited Vizhinjam and said the project would come up at the site selected by the State Government and that the EIA would be completed in a year. If that has to happen, the recommendations made by the Expert Appraisal Committee of his own ministry at three separate meetings since January 2011 will have to be ignored.
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