According to him, the committee, which met on May 11 and May 12, had rejected the ToR. The minutes of the 100th meeting of the committee clearly says that the committee has declined approval again. In addition to the reasons given at the 95th meeting denying clearance, the committee has found one more reason this time, Vijayakumar said. ‘'Now the justification for denying clearance is the proposed port's proximity to the Vizhinjam fishing harbour. They have also repeated the reasons given at the 95th meeting,'' Vijayakumar said.
The report of the 95th meeting had urged the State to undertake detailed studies regarding the environmental impact of the port project. It also mentioned that several port projects were being planned on the Kerala and Tamil Nadu shores which could accelerate environmental degradation.
The State was asked to conduct a detailed shoreline study using satellite-based surveys. The then LDF government had construed this as an attempt to scuttle the Vizhinjam project in favour of the Tuticorin and Colachal port projects in Tamil Nadu. Read the full report here.
Source: IBN Live, Thiruvananthapuram.
