Press release - September 24, 2010
Greenpeace today released new documents which it claims show that the Minister of Environment and Forests has overlooked the violation of the country's Forest Conservation Act (FCA) by the Dhamra port in Orissa. The port is a joint venture between TATA Steel and L&T.
The area in question adjoins critical habitat for endangered Olive Ridley turtles and other wildlife. The revelations will put pressure on Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to explain why he has ignored these violations, while recently denying clearance for UK based Vedanta to mine in the Niyamgiri hills citing similar legal violations.
Responding to the news, Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner with Greenpeace India said:
“This can only lead to speculation as to what actually goes on in the corridors of power at the Environment Ministry. On what basis has the Ministry in Delhi flatly contradicted a very clear report by its office in Bhubaneswar?” asked Ashish Fernandes, oceans campaigner with Greenpeace India. “Vedanta was rightly punished for violating the law – are there different rules for different corporations?”
On May 5, 2010 the ministry gave a clean chit to Orissa’s Dhamra port (1) (a TATA Steel-L&T project) even though an April 1, 2010 report from the MoEF’s Regional Office in Bhubaneswar has re-confirmed after a site inspection that the port is in violation of the Forest Conservation Act(2). No explanation has been given for the vastly different stands taken by different offices in the same ministry.
These developments cast doubt over the Congress high command’s recent assertions that it would uphold green laws and not sacrifice environmental sustainability to appease corporate interests.
Government documents obtained under the Right to Information Act in 2009 showed the port to be violating the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. Acting on these documents, an application was filed in September 2009 in the Supreme Court(3), which referred the matter to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for its recommendation. Following the ministry’s May 5 affidavit, the CEC has recently opined that the area be “treated as non-forest land”. However, it has recommended that the company set up a 30 crore corpus for “conservation activities”, a suggestion the company has reportedly agreed to.
“What transpired between April 1 and May 5 in Delhi to make the Ministry adopt a different view from its office in Bhubaneswar?”, asked Fernandes. “If Jairam Ramesh is serious about enforcing the law impartially, then he and the UPA government owe the public an explanation.”
Earlier this year, over 20 national politicians(4) wrote to Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh asking him to take action on this issue. The Minister has thus far refused to take a public stand.
The Dhamra port has been opposed by researchers and wildlife groups since it was first proposed in the 1990s, on account of its proximity to the Bhitarkanika and Gahirmatha protected areas. Bhitarkanika is India’s second largest mangrove forest and the last stronghold of the saltwater crocodile, while Gahirmatha is one of the world’s largest nesting grounds for the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle. The port is less than 5 km from Bhitarkanika National Park and less than 15 km from the mass nesting beaches at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. With Phase I of the port nearly complete, the company is already planning a massive expansion in the controversial project.
Over 300 ports are planned for the coast of mainland India and there has been no indication from Minister Jairam Ramesh that he intends to prevent the mistakes of Dhamra from being repeated in other eco-sensitive areas.
Notes to Editor
1. http://greenpeace.in/turtle/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/MoEF-affidavit-May-5-2010.pdf
2. http://greenpeace.in/turtle/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/RegionalMoEF-April-1-2010.pdf
3. Interlocutory Application 2710 of 2009 filed by Bittu Sahgal and Others Vs Union of India and others in WP (C) 202 of 1995.
4. Business Standard http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/green-lobby-seeks-action-against-dhamra-port/395270/
For further information please contact
1. Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner, Greenpeace India +91 99801 99380 
2. Hozefa Merchant, Media Officer, Greenpeace India +91 98195 92410 