Chennai: Environmental nod to INO project challenged in National Green Tribunal
CHENNAI: Within a week of US and India signing an agreement for jointly advancing cutting-edge Neutrino projects in both countries, India-based Neutrino Observatory Project proposed in Bodi Hills of Theni district is facing yet another stumbling block.A Chennai-based environmental activist on Saturday moved the Principal Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) challenging environmental clearance granted recently for the project, based on a recommendation of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC). The petition was filed by G Sundarrajan, coordinator of ‘Poovulagin Nanbargal’, who earlier filed a similar petition before NGT southern bench and got the earlier clearance put in abeyance.
In his petition, Sundarrajan said such a mega project, being carried out for the first time in the country and coming close to a ecologically sensitive area, has been approved without conducting Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). Also, EAC has no jurisdiction to appraise Category B project, besides failing to consider any of the concerns raised by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) regarding the potential adverse impact of the project. Further, it was submitted that the EAC wrongly concluded while stating that “the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, Tamil Nadu was of the opinion that this project be appropriately handled by the Government of India”.
“This is clear from the minutes of the 98th meeting of the Tamil Nadu SEAC. The SEAC had never stated that the project be “appropriately handled by the Government of India”. In fact, the minutes clearly state that the SEAC decided that the project in question cannot be appraised under Item 8(a) as it involves many technical features other than a mere construction. Thus, the ministry and EAC have not even applied their mind to the said minutes of the 98th meeting of SEAC, but have simply reproduced certain statements contained in minutes of the meeting. It is further submitted that the reasons given by the SEAC or its conclusion that the proposal in question can never be appraised under 8 (a) ‘Building and construction project’ have not been addressed at all by Ministry or EAC,” the petition said.
Sundarrajan told Express that the chain of letters between SEIAA/SEAC and Union Environment Ministry reveal that the ministry had asked Tamil Nadu authorities on multiple occasions to wrongly appraise the project under 8(a) Building and Construction projects, despite NGT earlier in its order explicitly said it was Category ‘A’ project mandating EIA and public hearing.