A new proposal by the Tamil Nadu forest department to reduce the mandatory 10-km eco-sensitive zone or ESZ around the Pulicat Lake Wildlife...
A new proposal by the Tamil Nadu forest department to reduce the mandatory 10-km eco-sensitive zone or ESZ around the Pulicat Lake Wildlife Sanctuary near Chennai has sparked fresh protests from members of the fishing community, scientists and wildlife experts.
If it is allowed, the proposal will smooth the way for the expansion of the Kattupalli port 2.1 km south of Lake Pulicat in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvallur district by the Adani group, activists and fisherfolk say. This will threaten the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.
In December, Marine Infrastructure Developer Private Limited owned by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd detailed its plans to expand the 136.28-hectare Kattupalli port facility in a Draft Comprehensive Environment Impact Assessment Report for the Revised Master Plan submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Based on the proposal, there was to be a public hearing in January. But it was cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
According to the executive summary of the plan, the expansion of the Kattupalli port will be carried out on a total area of 2,472.85 ha. In addition to the existing area of the port, it will include 927.11 ha of government land and 613.31 ha of...
