‘Tata violated green norms’
An independent fact-finding team led by Sikkim Chief Justice S.N. Bhargava (Retd) has accused Tata Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), located in the ecologically-fragile area of Kutch, of destroying livelihoods of the local communities living in that area.
Releasing a report titled “The Real Cost of Power”, the team warned that “large stretches of mangroves, dry-land forests and bio-diversity creeks have been destroyed for the construction of the project’s inlet and outfall channels”. The report warned that since the project was located in the vicinity of other large-scale polluting industries, the Gujarat government should have insisted that a cumulative impact assessment study on the effect of such large-scale pollution on the local population and environment be conducted.
Not only has the project blocked access to fishing and grazing grounds but it has caused drastic reduction in fish catches located as it is adjacent to the Adani plant. Although the plant is only partially operational, the project has ignored the potential impacts of radioactivity from the coal ash pond, team members allege. “Independent readings taken from as far as 400 metres away from the ash pond recorded radiation levels that were double those found in the villages,” claimed Praful Bidwai, a member of the team.
However, Tata Power has denied the allegations. “The Mundra UMPP project strictly abides by stipulated norms for its operations, including the environment, community engagement and ecological impact,” Tata Power stated. It said: “The company is participating in a joint effort with the Gujarat Ecology Commission to preserve mangroves. Many of the concerns regarding the impact of the project are unfounded.” The power company further clarified that “the report itself admits there are several other operating units in the entire Kutch coastline, whereas a responsive organisation is being made the target”.
Other members of the fact-finding team include Dr Varadarajan Sampath, former adviser to the ministry of earth sciences, and Soumya Datta, the national convenor of the Bharat Jan Vighan Jatha.
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