Vizhinjam Port: Following Church Protests Kerala's Pinarayi Govt Orders Study On Coastal Erosion

The Kerala government has appointed a four-member expert committee to study whether the construction of the Vizhinjam Port  has caused coastal erosion.

While the order issued by the Kerala government instructs the panel to take the views of local representatives into consideration before finalizing the report.

It also asks the committee to identify ‘specific measures to address coastal erosion - if any erosion was observed.

The order also mentions that expert institutions like the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) are continuously observing the shoreline changes and environmental parameters over a distance of 20 km.

This is double the distance of 10km stipulated by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). So far these institutes have not found any coastal erosion to have been caused by the Vizhinjam Port Project.

The local fishing community, assisted by the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, have been protesting against the project and blaming it for coastal erosion. The protestors want a halt to the construction followed by a detailed study.

While the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has agreed to undertake a study as per the demand of the protestors, it has declined to halt construction. 

The High Court of Kerala has also recently instructed the Kerala government to provide police protection to the workers on site.

Vizhinjam is a natural deepwater sea port near the international shipping route and will cater to transhipment.  It is set to compete with international ports including ports of Colombo, Singapore and Dubai.

An Adani Group company, Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited is carrying out construction.