Coastal Regulation Zone and T R Baalu - Then and Now
The much hyped about SethuSamudram Canal (SSC) has finally been inaugurated early this month, despite stiff opposition from environmentalists and fisherfolk. You may wonder well, this in itself is nothing new. True, I am not going to talk about the merits and demerits of the project itself which has been discussed in media thoroughly mostly concluding as financially unviable and ecologically disastrous. But, there is some history related to this, which nobody seems to remember.
Just board a time machine and lets go to 2003 and don't worry, we'll definitely come back to present. It was the year Ms. Jayalalitha was pretty serious about building a new secretariat building, instead of the present Fort St. George. Mr. T R Baalu was then the Minister of Environment and Forests in the erstwhile Vajpayee-led NDA government. It was the same Baalu, who put spokes in all her plans to build a new secretariat.
When Jaya, decieded to demolish the Queen Mary's in the Marina to make way for the secretariat complex, Baalu intervened with an ultimate weapon in terms of central government order, which potentially overruled the state (so much for the 'fedarilsm' that the DMK raises hue and cry for). Thus was introduced an amendment to the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) Act without the usual 'notice period'. The notice period for done away with for the sake of 'larger public interest'. This amendment meant that heritage buildings (buildings of archeological or historical importance and buildings of public use such as schools, colleges, places of worship etc. can be demolished and reconstructed only after prior approval from MoEF. If that was not enough, another sub-clause was added, probably as a second level of safety mechanism- any construction activity with more than Rs. 5 crore investment within the CRZ should have to be approved by MoEF. Curiously, Congress was then with the AIADMK and oppposed the amendment tooth and nail. In fact, one of its member of Parliament , Dr. P Saroja supported by several other Congress colleagues brought a private members' bill suggesting certain amendments to Baalu's plan. The debate in the Lok Sabha was a pointer to the political alignment of those days.
Sensing the students protest and public dissatisfaction, Jaya decided to shift the project and this time to Anna University. The land being used by a school run by the university was identified for this purpose and it was even decided to shift the university hostel o some new place. Again, it was Baalu who intervened,just two-days prior to the foundation stone laying ceremony for the project. This time he can not invoke CRZ, because Kotturpuram - the project site is slightly inland. So, he came up with a notification that mandated Environment Impack Assessment (EIA) for office complexes with 1000 persons and above or discharging sewage of 50,000 litres per day and above or with an investment of Rs. 50 crores and above. The proposed Rs. 400 cr. secretariat project was clearly the target, though the ministry claimed the notification to be in response to 2001 SC directive to mandate EIA for purposes of town planning Acts.
Now, coming back to 2005, it is completely puzzling to see the speed of Mr. Baalu. It seems that the CRZ Act is not important for a major project such as SSC. It is being cleared and inaugurated hastily despite doubts being raised by the PMO and stiff opposition from the NGOs and fisherfolks, even before the public hearings on the project are completed. There could not be more than one reason for pushing this environmentally disastrous and economically unviable (much has been said and written about these) project - Assembly Elections 2006. This could be the costliest election to be held for a state assembly in India (the total outlay for the project is a whooping sum at Rs. 2400 crores).
Long Live Indian Democracy!
External links:
Just board a time machine and lets go to 2003 and don't worry, we'll definitely come back to present. It was the year Ms. Jayalalitha was pretty serious about building a new secretariat building, instead of the present Fort St. George. Mr. T R Baalu was then the Minister of Environment and Forests in the erstwhile Vajpayee-led NDA government. It was the same Baalu, who put spokes in all her plans to build a new secretariat.
When Jaya, decieded to demolish the Queen Mary's in the Marina to make way for the secretariat complex, Baalu intervened with an ultimate weapon in terms of central government order, which potentially overruled the state (so much for the 'fedarilsm' that the DMK raises hue and cry for). Thus was introduced an amendment to the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) Act without the usual 'notice period'. The notice period for done away with for the sake of 'larger public interest'. This amendment meant that heritage buildings (buildings of archeological or historical importance and buildings of public use such as schools, colleges, places of worship etc. can be demolished and reconstructed only after prior approval from MoEF. If that was not enough, another sub-clause was added, probably as a second level of safety mechanism- any construction activity with more than Rs. 5 crore investment within the CRZ should have to be approved by MoEF. Curiously, Congress was then with the AIADMK and oppposed the amendment tooth and nail. In fact, one of its member of Parliament , Dr. P Saroja supported by several other Congress colleagues brought a private members' bill suggesting certain amendments to Baalu's plan. The debate in the Lok Sabha was a pointer to the political alignment of those days.
Sensing the students protest and public dissatisfaction, Jaya decided to shift the project and this time to Anna University. The land being used by a school run by the university was identified for this purpose and it was even decided to shift the university hostel o some new place. Again, it was Baalu who intervened,just two-days prior to the foundation stone laying ceremony for the project. This time he can not invoke CRZ, because Kotturpuram - the project site is slightly inland. So, he came up with a notification that mandated Environment Impack Assessment (EIA) for office complexes with 1000 persons and above or discharging sewage of 50,000 litres per day and above or with an investment of Rs. 50 crores and above. The proposed Rs. 400 cr. secretariat project was clearly the target, though the ministry claimed the notification to be in response to 2001 SC directive to mandate EIA for purposes of town planning Acts.
Now, coming back to 2005, it is completely puzzling to see the speed of Mr. Baalu. It seems that the CRZ Act is not important for a major project such as SSC. It is being cleared and inaugurated hastily despite doubts being raised by the PMO and stiff opposition from the NGOs and fisherfolks, even before the public hearings on the project are completed. There could not be more than one reason for pushing this environmentally disastrous and economically unviable (much has been said and written about these) project - Assembly Elections 2006. This could be the costliest election to be held for a state assembly in India (the total outlay for the project is a whooping sum at Rs. 2400 crores).
Long Live Indian Democracy!
External links:
posted by Baskaran Sankaran @ 13:00
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