THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced here on Monday that Kerala would be included in the second phase of the integrated coastal zone management (CZM) project.
The Minister said that he did not favour the Athirappilly hydroelectric project and that clearance could not be granted for the proposed cricket stadium in Kochi. “The cricket stadium is a closed chapter,” he said.
Talking to the media after discussions with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on various environment and development programmes for the State, Mr. Ramesh said the first phase of the World Bank-assisted coastal management project was under implementation in West Bengal, Orissa, and Gujarat. Kerala had not shown interest in the Rs.1,200-crore project earlier.
On the basis of the talks with the Chief Minister, Kerala would be included in the second phase, which was expected to begin in September 2012. The project would include pollution control, mangrove and wetland preservation, and provision of livelihood options for fishermen and their families. A detailed report for the project costing Rs.500 crore would be prepared by the Centre for Earth Science Studies here.
Mr. Ramesh said the environmental impact assessment of the Vizhinjam international transshipment project would take one year. The Ministry had given approval for the terms of reference for the assessment.
He said the government would implement a Rs.90-crore project for restoration and regeneration of the Vembanad ecosystem. The project, based on a master plan, would have components for desilting and sewage treatment. The Ministry was allocating Rs.10 crore for the work.
He said clearance for the Pooyamkutty hydroelectric project could be considered by the Ministry only after the State Forest Department cleared the diversion of 1,420 hectares of forest for that. The project, which had been shelved earlier, was being revived by the State government and the Union Ministry had nothing to do with its revival.
On the Athirappilly project, Mr. Ramesh said his stand on the project was not politically motivated. He felt that the project was in the interests of neither Kerala nor the nation. On the cricket stadium, the Minister said the Kerala Cricket Association was not playing a straight bat. It was destroying mangroves in Coastal Regulation Zone I with the intention of characterising it as Zone II.
He said that 13 hectares from the Periyar Tiger Reserve for Sabarimala development had been handed over, and the ball was now in the State government's court. It would have to implement the master plan, he added.
0 comments:
Post a Comment