AHMEDABAD, February 23: In a landmark judgment, a division bench of the Gujarat high court on Monday quashed the union ministry of environment & forests' January 9 order, rejecting environmental clearance to the Rs 850-crore Sanghi Cement project, to construct a captive-jetty and pipelines for the desalination plant at Kauthar Bet in Kutch district.The bench, comprising chief justice K Sreedharan and justice MS Shah, also directed the centre to re-examine the issue in the light of observations made by experts' committees and looking at the region's backwardness. "This must be done within a period of two months from the receipt of this judgment," the bench said.
"Regarding the present project," it observed, "no committee till this date had recommended absolute ban on all construction activities in the area on the ground of pollution or endangering ecology." In response to a civil application filed by the Gujarat government, challenging the ministry order, the bench said: "We think it proper to impressupon the central government about the industrial backwardness of the district, one of the biggest of the country, and which constitutes one-fourth of the area of Gujarat. Nearly 75 per cent land of the district is either arid or semi-arid, unfit for any cultivation."The Rs 850-crore Sanghi Industries 2.6-mtpa cement project in Kutch district, embroiled in litigations, mainly from environmentalists, had got another jolt when the ministry on January 9 last rejected the coastal-zone regulation (CRZ) application for the captive jetty and pipeline project.
The union minister had single-handedly turned down the experts' committee's observation, on the basis of objections raised by two of the seven members. Overruling contentions of the two members -- Pratibha Pande and Chowdhari -- the bench observed that Kauthar Bet was just 13 km from the cement plant, while the nearest ports Mundra and Kandla (as suggested by the two members as alternative ports) are 130 and 175 kms away respectively. The ports of Jakhau andKoteshwar are for fishing only.
As per the Bharadwaj Committee's findings too, the court observed no vegetation was found on 98 hectares of the Kauther Bet, except 38 Babool trees, 11 Khar trees and 3 or 4 cactii. The luxurious growth of mangrove on the opposite bank was unlikely to cause any damage to the mangrove forest. Counsel for the Sanghis contended that over Rs 650 crore have already been spent on the project, which is nearing completion. But it was held up for ministry clearance, even for the pipeline project to carry sea water to the desalination plant. The delay in implementing the 50 per cent export-oriented unit (EOU), initially conceived in 1993 at Rs 650 crore, has already caused a cost-overrun, escalating to Rs 850 crore.
The company had based its cost-effectiveness on the project's proximity to the 200 million tonnes cement-grade limestone, spread over 20 sq km of land within 20-45 km distance, and its captive-jetty at Kauther Bet (group of islands) to transport the finished productabroad and the domestic coastal market. While the main cement plant has been designed and is being erected under the supervision of Fuller International Inc (USA), a subsidiary of Smidth group of Denmark, equipment for the all-weather jetty is to be supplied by Have & Boecker and SMB of Germany to load ships at 2,000 tonnes per hour. The plant incorporates robotic systems for optimising packaging and process-control equipment from ABB.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
