Dahanu authority member expresses concerns over Vadhavan Port project

Mumbai: The Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority (DTEPA) on Monday held its first full-strength hearing since the appointment of its new chairman

Mumbai: The Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority (DTEPA) on Monday held its first full-strength hearing since the appointment of its new chairman. Much to the relief of environmentalists and locals from Palghar district, a member of the authority expressed concerns over the Vadhavan Port project, proposed to come up in the eco-sensitive Dahanu Taluka.

Mumbai, India - December 15, 2020: Fishermen in Mumbai supported the demand for cancellation of the proposed Vadhvan Port in Palghar district. The protesters staged a silent protest against the port and displayed placards and messages by creating human chain at Mahim Causeway in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, December 15, 2020. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

A senior government official present during the hearing called the speech by one of the members as prejudice against the port.

The member called the project’s draft environment impact assessment (EIA) report “superficial”, and also called into question the rigour of a key report — by National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) —which formed the basis for an MoEFCC directive on May 26, 2022, which paved the way for construction of ports and harbours in the Dahanu eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).

This was previously prohibited by virtue of a 1998 order of the DTEPA itself, which concluded that construction of a port at Vadhavan would be “wholly impermissible and... illegal” as it would be “detrimental to the environmental and the socio-economic conditions of Dahanu area.”

In addition to chairman Arun Chaudhuri, the authority currently comprises Vidyadhar Deshpande (former director of town planning, Maharashtra), Shyam Asolekar (professor of environmental science at IIT-B), Rajendra Shinde (principal and head of botany department, St. Xavier’s College), Kulbhushan Jain (faculty of architecture, CEPT University), Soniya Sukumaran (senior principal scientist at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography’s regional centre, Mumbai), joint secretary Sunil Marale, member secretary and director of urban development department Nirmalkumar Chaudhuri, and Govind Bodke, district collector, Palghar.

Reading from a written statement on Monday, Asolekar remarked, “I would like to express my earnest desire to learn more about the thinking process employed by Vadhavan Port Project Ltd. (VPPL). This authority rejected the Vadhvan Port project 24 years ago vide the order dated 19 September 1998.

“I am sorry to express my displeasure in sharp words... I cannot resist but ask if the real issues behind rejecting the Vadhavan Port in 1998... are truly understood by the team working with VPPL?”

Asolekar also criticised the aforementioned NCSCM report -- which concludes that “the environmental and ecological impacts of the proposed offshore port facility is rather minimal” -- for being based purely on secondary data. “This is a curious report, prepared in two months, has some 20 objectives, and used secondary data. More in depth discussion is required alone on this report,” he said.

The draft EIA report for the project, commissioned by the implementing agency Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), was also panned by Asolekar for the apparently poor quality of data contained therein. “This document does not have dates anywhere. Why? No monitored data is provided with dates of samples collected. Whatever “Draft EIA Report” submitted to us is frankly superficial,” he said.

“What water-environment impacts are expected to happen during construction phase and operation years of the port? There are many such issues with the Draft EIA Report furnished to us. More productive discussion can take place after I receive a respectable EIA Report and study it thoroughly,” Asolekar added.

A senior government official, who was present at the hearing, but did not wish to be identified, said, “This statement shows Mr Asolekar’s prejudice against the port. He is free to be critical, but the manner in which he spoke today was almost as if he were delivering the DTEPA’s verdict. We hope that the other members of the authority view this project more positively and will help in clearing the way for it.”

Senior officials in JNPA, meanwhile, including chairman Sanjay Sethi and deputy chairman Unmesh Wagh, did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.