The environment permission granted to Nirma Limited to construct a cement plant on a waterbody in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar is likely to be cancelled. According to sources, the Ministry of Environment and Forest is likely to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court to this effect.
In such a scenario, Nirma will have to give up its plans to but the plant in Mahuva. The final hearing of the case in Supreme Court will be held this week.
The Ministry of Environment will take into account two committee reports that supported the farmers claim that the detergent giant had procured environmental clearance from the ministry by making faulty representation that the land was a wasteland.
A media report quoting ruling BJP MLA Kanubhai Kalsariya, who has gone against the party and championed the cause of Mahuva farmers, stated: “The expert committee report has pointed out that the plant will disturb the ecological balance of Mahuva. We hope the ministry will withdraw the environment clearance given to Nirma.”
Long legal battle
The Gujarat government had allotted 268 hectare of land to Nirma for its cement plant in Mahuva. This upset farmers who had with great difficulty converted what was once a barren wasteland into a fertile farmland. They had persuaded the administration to construct four check dams (bandharas) to prevent fresh water from flowing into the ocean.
They contended that the plant would pose a threat to agriculture, animal husbandry besides causing irreparable damage to environment. The samiti claimed that the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and Union environment ministry had wrongly given Nirma environment clearance.
Under the banner Shree Mahuva Bandhara Khetiwadi Pariyavaran Bachav Samittee, they filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Gujarat High Court through advocate Anand Yagnik in 2009.
After a long legal battle, a two-judge bench gave green signal to the plant on the condition that the consumer giant surrenders some 100 hectare of land which formed the water body. Kalsariya filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order.
A seven-member Balu committee, which was formed after SC intervention, consisting of top scientists of the country concluded that the land allocated to Nirma for the cement plant was located on a waterbody. Earlier, the Vaishnai committee formed by the ministry had also arrived at the same conclusion.
SourceAhmedabad Mirror
No comments:
Post a Comment