News Brief
Church Plans Own Expert Committee On Vizhinjam Port, Won't Go By Govt Panel Findings
Graphic showing Vizhinjam port (file photo)
The Latin Archdiocese Church has said that it would form its own expert committee to analyse if coastal erosion has been caused by the Vizhinjam multi-purpose port project.
Father Eugene Pereira of the Church said that the state government had not accepted the protestors’ demand of local persons being appointed as members of the MD Kudale led expert committee.
He expressed his apprehension that the government panel would come out with a report favourable to the project.
The state government had formed an expert committee led by MD Kudale, former Additional Director, Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, to study whether the port project has caused coastal erosion.
The government order (specifically asked the committee to consult representatives of the local people, before the finalization of the report.
The order also mentioned that the bodies monitoring the project continuously (over a 20 km stretch)—the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) had not observed any erosion.
Regarding a recent order of the Kerala High Court, which directed the State government to immediately demolish the tents erected by the protestors, Father Pereira said that they would not remove their tents and that they would instead go for legal opinion regarding the options available to them.
The ₹7,525-crore deep-water, multipurpose, international seaport and container transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam is being constructed by Adani Vizhinjam Ports Pvt Ltd (AVPPL) and is expected to significantly boost India's maritime ambitions.
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