MIDC seeks green nod for massive industrial complex amid mangroves, mudflats in Alibaug

The Mumbai-based environment group Conservation Action Trust (CAT), however, has cautioned the MoEFCC against sanctioning the project without proper environmental scrutiny, on grounds that the earmarked site is riven with creeks, dotted with mangroves and covered by expansive mudflats

Mumbai: The Union ministry for environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) this week considered a proposal by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to establish a sprawling industrial complex -- the Shahpur-Dherand Industrial Area -- in Raigad’s Alibaug taluka, on 958 acres of ecologically sensitive land adjoining the critically polluted Amba River.

HT Image

The project, which will cater to two companies -- UPL Limited (formerly United Phosphorus Limited) and the Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas -- for manufacturing chemicals and paper products, is estimated to finish construction by June 2024. It has been claimed by the state government that the project will create 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the first phase and an equal number in the second phase, attracting an investment of around ₹20,000 crore.

The Mumbai-based environment group Conservation Action Trust (CAT), however, has cautioned the MoEFCC against sanctioning the project without proper environmental scrutiny, on grounds that the earmarked site is riven with creeks, dotted with mangroves and covered by expansive mudflats, which necessarily attract the highest protection offered to such landforms under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.

In a letter to the Centre last week, Prasad Khale, senior conservation officer, CAT, wrote, “The site for the proposed project falls under the CRZ IA category at Shahpur-Dherand village as identified under the CRZ Notification. These include mangroves, mudflats, etc. Despite this, the project proponent states that the proposed project area falls under the CRZ-II area.”

CRZ-II refers to areas that have already been developed up to or close to the shoreline, and where building restrictions have been lifted under amendments to law made in 2019. Current satellite images of the plot, seen by HT, clearly show the presence of mangroves on the plot, which happens to be right next to the Amba River, with tributaries passing through the project layout.

“The high flood line (HFL) of Amba River and the high tide line (HTL) of its estuary falls under the project layout,” Khale said in his letter to the MoEFCC.

Khale also pointed out that the environmental impact assessment consultant hired by MIDC -- Fine Envirotech Engineers -- is not duly accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET), which renders them immune to regulatory scrutiny. “Fine Envirotech Engineers has stayed orders from Hon’ble Bombay High Court and Hon’ble Supreme Court of India against NABET,” the MIDC told the MoEFCC while submitting the project’s details.

“It is not clear why another consultant has not been approached and the reference of the one who is technically barred from carrying out such assessment has been provided. This should cast serious doubts over the quality of the EIA report which will be produced, and on the basis of which the project stands to be given environmental clearance,” said Khale.

MIDC civil officer in Alibaug, Sanjay Naravane, could not be reached by HT for comment despite several attempts.