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Another spanner in Posco's Orissa project: Coast along port site eroding

There is more trouble in store for South Korean steel maker Posco’s Orissa project. Shoreline surveys have found the state’s coastline to be highly erosive. Worse still, 50%, that is 4.8 km of the 9.3 km coastline along the proposed captive port site at Jatadhari is eroding. This is likely to put a spanner in the works for the South Korean company, which has been insistent on a separate captive port, even though the Paradip port is just 10 km away from the proposed port.

This is not all. The environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee on infrastructure and coastal regulation zone has found the comprehensive environment impact assessment report, submitted by the company in November, to be inadequate in addressing crucial issues. The expert committee asked the steel major to “examine and revise” its proposal for a captive port in Jatadhari at the mouth of the Mahanadi river. Till a proposal addressing all outstanding issues is submitted, the committee has suggested that Posco “may be asked by the ministry not to go ahead with the proposal”.

While deficiencies in the environment impact assessment report could be satisfactorily addressed, the eroding coastline is likely to present a much bigger problem for Posco. The 9.3 km coastline along the proposed port site shows zones ranging from high erosion to stable coast. It has been advised that proper precautions be taken to erect any structure along this coastal stretch.

The ministry announced in December that no construction would be allowed along high erosion zones of the coast, while construction in medium erosion will need to be preceded by comprehensive and cumulative environment impact assessment reports.

The recent proliferation of ports and other structures along the Orissa coast has contributed to its high levels of erosion. The shoreline erosion map for Orissa, prepared by the Institute of Ocean Management at the Anna University, is yet be approved by the state government. Though the maps cannot be made public without the approval of the state government, clearly the findings are an important input for the ministry’s expert appraisal committee as it firms up its recommendation to the minister on the project.

The expert committee has raised questions on the shortcomings of the environment impact assessment report in addressing issues like the project’s impact on fisheries and the livelihood of fishing communities, nesting and breeding of turtles and other marine life, flora and fauna in the Jatadhar Mohan creek. It also fails to provide any proper information about treatment of waste and effluents being disposed in the sea and its effects, or measures to prevent emission from handling of coal and iron ore.

The committee is concerned that the report doesn’t make detail the environmental and social impacts of locating the port at Jatadhari. The site selection appears to be on “purely economical considerations” and no other potential site such as Dhamra or Paradip was examined. The cumulative impact of the Posco port, along with existing ports and industries along the coast, has not been undertaken.

Even though the impact assessment report recognises the importance of the fragile nature of the Orissa coast, it does not provide a comprehensive report on the impact of the project on the fisheries in the area. Neither is the economic loss to the local fishing communities emanating from setting up the captive is assessed. This is a very crucial issue due to the presence of close to 30,000 fishing communities. This omission comes at a time when the government is working to put in place a legislation on fishermen’s livelihood, on the lines of the Forest Rights Act.

Concerns have been raised about the report’s inadequate detailing of the project’s impact on nesting, breeding, spawning of fishes and other marine animals like turtles and crabs. It is silent on the quantity of raw material—coal and iron ore—the port will handle in a year. Neither does it deal with mitigation measures, coastal protection efforts or maintenance of coastal equilibrium cost implications of the proposed port.

None of this augurs well for the South Korean steel maker. Of the three committees reviewing the Posco project, only the expert appraisal committee on industry has recommended a conditional approval for the steel plant. That clearance is moot as the crucial forest advisory committee has recommended temporary withdrawal of forest clearance. This is because claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 are yet to addressed and neither have the local communities given a no-objection to the diversion of forest land. Both these requirements have to be met before any forest land can be diverted for non-forest use.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh has said that a final decision on the `54,000-crore integrated port and steel plant project will be taken by end January. In arriving at his decision, Mr Ramesh will need to take into consideration the recommendations of these committees as well as the strategic importance of the largest foreign direct investment project.