The Hindu Business Line : `Sethusamudram will not be beneficial: Jayalalithaa

THE Tamil Nadu Government is against the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project because of the adverse impact it will have on the environment and the livelihood of the fishermen in the region, said the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, in the Assembly on Monday.

Also, the project is not likely to offer the kind of economic benefit that it is expected to do, either to the local economy or to the canal users, she said.

The State Government is particular that the project should be implemented only after addressing the environment issues and ensuring that the livelihood of fishermen is not affected.

Ms Jayalalithaa said the Chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust, who is the chief of the project implementing authority, had applied to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) for a no-objection certificate for the project. But before the opinions expressed in the public hearings could be studied, the Central Pollution Control Board ordered the TNPCB on March 2, 2005, to send the report within seven days or face action.

Apart from the objections by the public, it was also found that there were debatable points in the environment impact assessment of the project by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

The Gulf of Mannar, where the canal is to be dredged, is a 10,000-sq km area rich in marine life where a UNDP-funded conservation project is being implemented. The Bombay Natural History Society and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai had expressed concern about the impact the project will have on the environment. Fishermen and NGOs had also expressed objections to the project.

So, on March 3, the TNPCB constituted an expert committee headed by the former director of the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Dr M. Ravindran. But the Central Government's Department of Environment and Forests gave the environment approval for the project on March 31, without waiting for the State board's approval, Ms Jayalalithaa said.

The expert committee constituted by the TNPCB, which submitted its report on May 30, said that NEERI's report was based on secondary information collected by various institutions on different occasions for various requirements. The committee also called for more detailed studies on the currents in the area, marine life, sea-bed properties, movement of ships and hazards posed by possible oil spills to understand the environmental impact of the project.

Due to the concerns expressed by the expert committee, the TNPCB could not give its approval for the project. But the dredging work was started on July 2 without addressing any of these concerns. Following the dredging operations, natural resources in the area had been affected, with coral reefs being destroyed, spawning grounds lost and fish catch coming down.

The proponents of the project, including the Centre, say the project can provide economic benefit by cutting down sailing time for ships. But the canal is only 12 metres deep and large vessels cannot use the canal. Also, smaller ships that use the canal will end up spending three times more time than they would by using the longer route because they would be travelling at half speed, which means more fuel consumption and they would have to pay for using the canal. Therefore, the canal is not likely to find many users and the project is not likely to provide any economic benefit to Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalithaa said.

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