EIA report on CNG pipeline in eco-sensitive zone yet to be made public

MPCB also issued the public notice for hearing only on January 21, despite the Environment Impact Assessment notification mandating that this be done at least 30 days before the hearing date.

Mumbai Even as the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is set to conduct a mandatory public hearing over a proposed 45-km natural gas pipeline through Dahanu eco-sensitive zone on January 27, the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is yet to be made public. Moreover, MPCB issued the public notice for hearing only on January 21, despite the Environment Impact Assessment notification mandating that this be done at least 30 days before the hearing date.

The proposed pipeline, being executed by Gujarat Gas Limited, will supply piped natural gas to homes in the Thane district. (Vidya Subramanian/ HT Photo)

A truncated, executive summary of the EIA is available on the MPCB website, which environmentalists say does not provide enough details.

The proposed pipeline, being executed by Gujarat Gas Limited, will supply piped natural gas to homes in the Thane district. It will start from Umargam Road at Zai Village in Dahanu taluka, running parallel to existing roads under the custodianship of the public works department and the taluka municipality. The pipeline will terminate at Dahanu’s Kolavali village.

The executive summary of the EIA, reviewed by Hindustan Times, states that “The proposed Dahanu Taluka pipeline network is an intra-state pipeline which falls in Dahanu Taluka and Dahanu Taluka is notified as ecologically fragile area/ecologically sensitive area as per MoEF&CC notification vide dated 20th June 1991... and as per present EIA notification 14 September 2006 it attracts the provision of obtaining prior environmental clearance from MoEF&CC as a Category A project, to be apprised by Centre and not the state environment impact assessment authority.”

“The manner in which this hearing is being pushed is clearly against the procedure. The entire Dahanu eco-sensitive zone is being fragmented by multiple linear intrusions other than this pipeline, including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, Mumbai-Vadodara expressway, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, and another set of pipelines to carry water from the Surya Dam to Vasai-Virar and Mira-Bhayander,” said Debi Goenka, executive trustee, Conservation Action Trust and an invitee of the Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority or DPTEPA (which is yet to consider this project).

Goenka further said that environmental clearances for these projects need to be considered keeping in mind their cumulative impact on the ecosystem. “Such piecemeal clearances runs counter to the intent of the MoEFCC’s 1991 notification declaring the region as eco-sensitive.”

Yashwant Sontakke, joint director, MPCB, did not respond to calls and messages seeking a response.

The Dahanu ESZ serves as an ecological buffer between the highly industrialised region of Vapi in Gujarat, and the Boisar industrial complex in Tarapur, which is also home to the Tarapur Atomic Power Plant. It is also home to the upcoming Vadhavan port project, which is being opposed by local fisherfolk communities and environmentalists, who have for decades been advocating for stronger land-use regulations in the region.

In addition to EC from the Centre, the project also requires clearance from the DTEPA, which is yet to consider the proposal.