Dahanu locals raise a storm over proposed port

May 23: Chief Minister Manohar Joshi may not have got all his facts right when he told a business gathering in Singapore that the construct...

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May 23: Chief Minister Manohar Joshi may not have got all his facts right when he told a business gathering in Singapore that the construction of a port by P&O, an Australian-Malaysian consortium, was already underway in the Thane-Vadhwan belt.

Joshi probably was unaware that locals in this ecologically sensitive Dahanu taluka, 125 km north of Mumbai, are resisting the construction of the billion dollar (Rs 360 crore) industrial port. With the shoreline already disappearing under rising water levels, they fear the port would add to large-scale submerging of coastal stretches in the region.

Despite the deployment of State Reserve Police in the taluka, residents maintain a constant vigil to prevent government officials from carrying out surveys. The locals have also courted arrest in protest against the proposed port.

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Ravaged by unbridled constructions along its eco-fragile shores, the Dahanu region has undergone a huge transformation due to the submerging of villages, roads and even a jetty.

But principal secretary (environment) Asoke Basak told Express Newsline that per se, the construction of a port at Vadhavan in Dahanu taluka was viable. The details of the project were being examined, Basak added.

Still, Joshi, replying about follow-ups on investment proposals generated during the `Advantage Maharashtra’ conference in February this year, told the Singapore gathering the project had already taken off.

Dahanu Taluka Environmental Welfare Association secretary Kitayum Rustom told Express Newsline they would oppose the project tooth and nail.

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She said the dumping of pre-fabricated mass cement blocks along 875 acres of the coastal stretches for constructing a jetty for Bombay Suburban Electric Supply’s 500 MW capacity Thermal Power Plant (TPP) had already submerged many villages in the taluka. Hence, reclaiming 10 sq.km. of rock shelf along Vadhavan coast for constructing a 30-berth port could lead to an environmental disaster, Rustom warned.

After examining the plan for Dahanu region and its environmental viability, the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI) had submitted a report to the Supreme Court on October 18, 1996, suggesting that no development should be allowed in the taluka’s coastal region.

The report said landfilling activities and construction of bunds for TPP along the creek has resulted in obstruction of free flow of sea water during tidal activity, causing ingress of water in coastal areas.

Due to the ingress, Dhakti Dahanu, a coastal village, was partly inundated last monsoon.

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Heavy unauthorised sand dredging and constructions on the beach have led to additional ingress in the adjoining areas.

An IRS-LISS III satellite survey conducted last year revealed 40 per cent decrease in wetland. Criss-crossing creeks and drainage channels too have disappeared between the year of 1989-1996, the report further added.