Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Aug 04, 2006
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Aug 04, 2006 |
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Roadways States - Kerala Vallarpadam road gets environmental nod Our Bureau
The construction of the road should conform to all conditions stipulated by the State Pollution Control Board and KSCZMA and incorporate all the recommendations of the National Institute of Oceanography.
Thiruvananthapuram , Aug. 3 The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has cleared construction of a road connecting the site of the proposed container transhipment terminal at Vallarpadam in Kochi with the National Highway-47. The 17.22-km road falls within the Kochi port limits extending from Bolgatty Island in the south to Cherranallur in the north. It is proposed to be a four-lane road on bridges, culverts, embankments and stilts. The road will be constructed on the embankments after reclamation of backwaters. It will feature four major and four minor bridges and 20 culverts to ensure free tidal water flow. Besides, the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority (KSCZMA) had recommended constructing the road on stilts along a stretch of 710 metres that falls in the buffer zone of the filtration pond of the backwater system. This, too, is to ensure the free flow of tidal waters. KSCZMA had also stipulated afforestation of mangroves over an area of 3.67 hectares along the road stretch. The road on the stilts will have a minimum vertical clearance of 2.5 metres. The reclamation of backwaters will be to an extent of 37.6 hectares. The project entails felling of 4,653 trees and the environmental clearance is subject to afforestation to the tune of thrice the number of trees felled.
CONDITIONS
The Ministry has attached several specific conditions to the clearance. The construction of the road should conform to all conditions stipulated by the State Pollution Control Board and KSCZMA and incorporate all the recommendations of the National Institute of Oceanography. During the construction and operation of the road, it should be ensured that no ecologically sensitive areas such as mangroves and breeding and spawning grounds of fishes are damaged. Also, solid wastes should not be dumped in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas. It has also been stipulated that no ground water is tapped for the project within the CRZ areas. Reclamation should be restricted to a maximum of width of 60 metres for the road. Adequate measures should be taken to protect estuarine ecology and marshy ecosystem during the construction and operation of the project. A study in this regard should be assigned to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, and its report should be submitted to the Ministry every six months.
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