The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has issued showcause notices to the Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone (MPSEZ) located in Mundra taluka of Kutch district for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 1991.
The ministry has also simultaneously issued showcause notices to OPG Power Gujarat, which is planning a 300-mw thermal power plant about 20 km from the MPSEZ, for violation of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. The notice follows a site-visit report of the area by additional director of the environment ministry, A Senthilvel, on December 6 and 7.
The environment ministry had earlier received several representations alleging violations of various environmental laws from Bharat Patel, general secretary of the Machikar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan, a local fishermen’s union.
The notice to the MPSEZ ? operated by the Adani Group and valued at Rs29,610-crore in market cap ? lists several CRZ violations: ?large-scale? of mangroves in different areas, blocking of creeks and tidal flow to mangrove areas, and building an airport, a township and a hospital without proper clearances.
The airport had obtained clearance from the civil aviation department, but had not obtained one from the MoEF, needed under the CRZ notification. The ministry has asked the company to reply within 15 days, failing which ?appropriate orders as deemed fit will be passed under the circumstances of the case without any further notice.?
In addition, the ministry asked why several of the clearances already granted to the company by the Gujarat State Environment Impact Assessment should not be canceled, why it’s own clearances should not be canceled due to violation of conditions and why illegal constructions should not be dismantled to allow tidal-flow.
The ministry also asked why a 1,000-hectare mangrove afforestation drive should not be paid for by the MPSEZ in and around the project site in consultation with organisations like Gujarat Ecological Commission.
The ministry has also directed the Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority to prepare a revised CRZ area for the site, superimpose it on a map of the existing area and thereafter remove or dismantle any construction that violates the CRZ area.
A spokesperson for the Adani group said, ?The work carried out at Mundra is in compliance with clearances. We are studying the issues raised by MoEF and will respond to them in due course of time. Operations at Mundra are normal as usual.? The MPSEZ has chalked out massive expansion plans, having signed an MoU with the Gujarat government during the Vibrant Gujarat summit 2009 to expand and develop multiple facilities at Mundra at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 crore. The proposed port facilities were expected to become operational in a phased manner from 2011.
The MPSEZ is the second port to be questioned by the MoEF, with the proposed Positra port plan scrapped in April this year due to dangers posed to the marine ecosystem in the Gulf of Kutch.