KOCHI: Environmentalist S Sitaraman has reacted sharply to BCCI vice-president T C Mathew’s allegation that it was Shashi Tharoor MP who scuttled the Kerala Cricket Association’s move to build a cricket stadium in Edakochi.
“I don’t know why he is dragging Tharoor into this. He was not even in the picture when the Environment Ministry denied clearance to the project,” said the veteran activist, who was in the forefront opposing the project, citing the ecological destruction to the mangrove swamps in Edakochi. According to him, the clearance was denied after the Union ministry ordered an investigation into the ecological impact of the proposed stadium. He said the probe was the result of a series of letters environmentalists like him sent to the ministry. “The stadium should not be allowed in Edakochi because it is located in one of the most ecologically sensitive regions. It is for a reason that it is classified as a CRZ 1 category region,” he said.