To, Prof. T. Haque, Retd. Director & CEO, Council
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To, Prof. T. Haque, Retd. Director & CEO, Council for Social Development, 53, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi Dr. N. P. Shukla, Ex. Chairman, MPPCB, H-44-B, Apsara Complex, Indrapuri, A-Sector, Bhopal - 462021, Madhya Pradesh Dr. H. C. Sharatchandra, Ex. Chairman, Karnataka, SPCB "Belaku" 66, 3rd Cholanagara Main Road, Amarjyothi Layout , Bangalore - 560032, Karnataka Sh. V. Suresh, Former CMD, HUDCO, 3203, Verona, Cliff Avenue, Hiranandani Gardens, Powi, Mumbai- 400076, Maharashtra Dr. V. S. Naidu 307, A2 Wing, Dewan Mansion-I, Opp, Panchvati, Ambadi Road, Vasai (West), Dist Palghar -401202, Maharashtra Sh. B. C. Nigam, IFS (Retd), A-804, Aims Golf Avenue-1, Plot No. 2, Sector-75, Noida-201304, Uttar Pradesh Dr. Manoranian Hota, Advisor (Retd), MoEF&CC K-184, Gulshan Ikebana, Sector-143, Noida, Gautam Budha Nagar201301, Uttar Pradesh Dr. Dipankar Saha, Addl. Director (Retd), CPCB 214/5, Banamalipur Road, Purbapara (Near Maitri Sangha Club), PS&PO-Barasat, 24 Parganas-North - 700124, Kolkata (West Bengal) Dr. Jayesh Ruparelia, Professor & Head, Chemical Engineering Department, Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Dr. (Mrs.) Mayuri H. Pandya, Director I/C (Associate Professor), GLS Law College, Ahemdabad, Gujarat Dr. M. V. Ramana Murthy, Project Director (Scientist G), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Velachery-Tambaram Main Road, Narayanpuram, Pallikaranai, Chennai - 600 100, Tamil Nadu Prof. Dr. P.S.N. Rao, Director School of Architecture and Planning, 4, Block B, I P Estate, New Delhi- 110002 Shri Kushal Vashist, Director Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Jor Bagh Road, New Delhi-110003. Date: 26th January 2019 Subject: Consideration of “Proposed Revised Master Plan development of Kattupalli Port by Marine Infrastructure Developer Private Limited (MIDPL) at Kattupalli, Ponneri Taluka, Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu” in the 38th Meeting of the CRZ (Infra 2) EAC Meeting on February 06th 2019 Sir/Madam, This is with respect to consideration of project mentioned in subject above in the 38th Meeting of the CRZ (Infra 2) EAC Meeting on February 06th 2019, and thereafter. We would like to bring the following points to your notice – Ecological Sensitivity - 1. The facilities proposed in the “Revised Master Plan” of the Katupalli port involves the conversion of 1136 Hectares/2807 Acres of the Ennore Creek and its associated wetlands into industrial real estate for the expansion of the Katupalli port. These areas have been earmarked as Salt Pans, Mangroves, Intertidal Areas and No Development Zone (CRZ 1-A, 1-B, CRZ III (NDZ) and CRZ IV) as per the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan 2018. Activities like reclamation for construction of such facilities is a prohibited activity in these areas. (Attached – Map Overlaying Project Boundary on CZMP 2018) 2. Through a letter dated 16.12.2014, Secretary (Environment & Forests). Government of Tamil Nadu while recommending conditional clearance to a proposal by Kamarajar Port made it very clear that Salt Pans are CRZ 1B (intertidal areas) as per Tamil Nadu's approved Coastal Zone Management Plan. Government of Tamil Nadu has expressly prohibited reclamation of saltpans. (Attached). 3. The Wetland Rules, 2010, state that wetlands or wetland complexes below an elevation of 2500 metres with an area equal to or greater than 500 hectares (1236 acres) shall be regulated as protected wetlands. With its more than 10000-acre water spread area, the Ennore Creek and Backwaters is a “protected wetland” under these Rules. Activities such as reclamation, setting up of new industries or expansion of existing industries, manufacture, storage or handling of hazardous substances, and dumping of solid waste or discharge of untreated effluents are prohibited within protected wetlands. 4. The project map submitted by the project proponent on Survey of India Toposheet reveals the intent of the project proponent to reclaim wetlands including saltpans and tidalmarshes for the proposed expansion. Such reclamation would be illegal. (Attached – Project Boundary on Survey of India Toposheet) 5. The project proponent admits that the project reclaims Intertidal Area, Salt Pans, and Coastal Beach Stretch etc. in the PFR, Section 4.4 on Page 24. It is unclear how the consultant claims this site is feasible despite the presence of such ecologically important features. Impact on Ambient Air Quality and Public Health – 6. The Development is envisaged within the Ennore-Pulicat brackish water ecosytem and the Kattupally dune complex. This region is already under severe stress due to the operation of large scale polluting industries in the area, illegal diversion of wetlands for industrial purposes, flattening of sand dunes and degradation of wetlands due to coal and flyash pollution. 7. Increased movement of heavy vehicles due to the presence of two port has worsened an al ready intolerable air quality by adding to the pollution caused by oil refineries (Manali), coal fired power plants and the Hinduja foundries. 8. Independent real time air monitors air quality monitoring in the Ennore Area deployed by Chennai Based HUMA Hospitals show high levels of particulate matter in the air. Air quality during the month 12 September, 2018 to 13 January, 2019 provides a case in point. Out of the 120 days monitored, daily averages of PM 2.5 for 32 days were above the permissible limit of 60 ug/m3. Hourly average readings show a maximum of 618 ug/m3 on some perticularly polluted days. 9. A health study conducted by Huma Hospitals among Kuruvimedu residents in April 2017 confirmed fears that air pollution was harming health: a) Out of 73 persons X-rayed in the camp, 14 persons (19.2 percent) -- a high proportion -- showed abnormalities in their chest X-rays. b) 36 out of 99 participants presented with "dry cough" suggesting cause of cough as a physical irritant rather than a pathogen-induced infection The Sub-Committee from the EAC thermal that visited Ennore with regard to the ETPS Replacement plant also took cognizance of the prevailing public health condition in the area. The report and meeting minutes available here http://environmentclearance.nic.in/writereaddata/Form- 1A/Minutes/021120170QDPI8VH11thMoMEACTherma26102017.pdf 10. The MoEFCC's Expert Appraisal Committee (Thermal) while considering a LNG based power plant in the same locality has referred to the severe anthropogenic stress this region is under due to several industrial establishments along the creek which have reclaimed intertidal areas, mangroves, mudflats, saltpans, etc. to ask the project proponent to conduct alternative site analysis. - http://environmentclearance.nic.in/writereaddata/Form- 1A/Minutes/04062018NGRNM9OHFFinalMoM17thThermalnumbers.pdf 11. The proposed project falls in the same area and will contribute to the further degradation of the area, yet no analysis of alternate sites considered has been presented. Impact on Shoreline and Ennore Creek 12. A 2006 Report titled “Shoreline Management Plan for Ennore Coast” prepared by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India has stated that the construction of the Ennore Port has put the Ennore Coast at risk of accelerated erosion. The report warns of a threat to the ecologically sensitive Pulicat Lake and the “Ennore Shoals”. - http://www.icmam.gov.in/slmennore.pdf 13. Shoals comprise of coarse sediment occupied along the offshore boundary of the shoal and finer sediments adjacent to the coastline. This aspect clearly demonstrates that the shoals while interacting with large waves, reduces the energy of the incoming wave that acts as a natural barrier, protecting the coast. The Map on Page 24 of the Proposed Terms of Reference Document submitted by the project proponent shows the presence of Shoals in the project area. 14. Coastal areas north of the existing L&T Shipbuilding are vulnerable to erosion due to the presence of two ports (4 breakwaters, Kamarajar Port and L&T Shipbuilding) block the net northward littoral drift of sand. According to the National Assessment of Shoreline Changes, July 2018, by the National Centre for Coastal Research, 14 km of coastline in Thiruvallur district is undergoing erosion. A major portion of the eroding coastline is located along the Kattupally barrier island where the proposed port is to be built. https://www.indiaspend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/National-Assessment-of-Shoreline-Changes- NCCR-report.pdf 15. Numerous studies, including notably by Kasinatha Pandian1 et al highlights the importance of the Ennore Shoals in mitigating wave energy and erosion to the North of the breakwaters of existing ports. The width of the sand spit separating the Bay of Bengal from the Pulicat lake is as narrow as 100 metres in places, as in Koraikuppam. The proposed port will not only disturb the Ennore Shoals and remove this natural mitigator of storm intensity and erosion, but also trigger dangerous erosion that can turn the Lake Pulicat from a brackishwater ecosystem to a marine system. See “Shoreline Changes and Near Shore Processes Along Ennore Coast, East Coast of South India” http://www.jcronline.org/doi/abs/10.2112/1551- 5036%282004%2920%5B828%3ASCANSP%5D2.0.CO%3B2 16. The long-shore erosion that will be triggered of by the construction of proposed 12.1 KM of breakwater also mounts threat to Shriharikota Island, home to ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre. 17. The fishing villages of Goonankuppam, Vairavan Kuppam, Korai Kuppam, Lighthouse Nadukuppam, Kadal Kanniyur, Kattupalli, Kalanji, Karungali, Arangankuppam, Thirumalai Nagar are likely to be affected by shoreline changes caused by the port, and will be at an increased risk of exposure to high-intensity storms and extreme weather events. 18. The project proponent is deliberately misleading the Expert Appraisal Committee by concealing facts about the geo-morphology of the area. Section III (4) of the Form I submitted has no reference to the 2807 acres of Ennore Creek – Katupalli Backwater they seek to reclaim. By stating that Kosasthalaiyar and Araniyar Rivers is 6.3 KM and 4.2 KM away respectively, the project proponent is providing partial information to the EAC.