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On 'Expansion of #Kattupalli Port' proposed by #adanigroup, Govt. informs #LokSabha that Public Hearing as part of the Public Consultation process for obtaining environmental clearance has not been held. @_maadhyam_
A thread on the #katupalli project 1/8
On 'Expansion of #Kattupalli Port' proposed by #adanigroup, Govt. informs #LokSabha that Public Hearing as part of the Public Consultation process for obtaining environmental clearance has not been held. @_maadhyam_
A thread on the #katupalli project 1/8
Madras HC on 22.01.2020 in a Writ Petition filed by Mr.P.Ethiraj a fisherman from Pazhaverkadu, sought response of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board about the public hearing venue for the â‚ą53,000 crore expansion project to be taken up at Kattupalli port. 2/8
EIA Notification: a public hearing to ascertain views of locally affected people shall be conducted at the site or in its close proximity. But the proposed venue for the public hearing on 22.01.2021 was in Minjur, 20 km away. 3/8 Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/plea-in-hc-over-venue-of-public-hearing-of-kattupalli-port-expansion-project/article33639393.ece
Interestingly, the Thiruvallur District Collector had already issued an official release informing that the public hearing stood postponed citing such gathering to be violative of COVID protocols. 4/8 Source: https://www.dtnext.in/News/City/2021/01/20062946/1272107/Kattupalli-Port-development-Collector-cancels-public-.vpf
But the 2006 EIA Notification says: “No postponement of the date, time, venue of the public hearing shall be undertaken, unless some untoward emergency situation occurs.” 5/8
The Madras HC also served notice on Gautam Adani-owned Marine Infrastructure Developer Private Ltd., which operates the port in Tiruvallur district and had decided to go for expansion of its handling capacity by over 12 times. 6/8 Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/plea-in-hc-over-venue-of-public-hearing-of-kattupalli-port-expansion-project/article33639393.ece
The Govt. also informed #LokSabha that the Ministry has not been informed of any challenges of water security, increased flooding risks, rise in saline ingress/ intrusion into groundwater aquifers in and around Chennai. 7/8
For more information on the proposed project and the issues involved, check out: https://science.thewire.in/environment/illegal-and-unnecessary-but-adani-port-proposal-makes-it-to-public-hearing-stage/ 8/8
