Thiruvananthapuram: The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has given the green light to the KGS Group to conduct yet another Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study for the proposed Rs 2000-crore Aranmmula Airport project. The first EIA was rejected by National Green Tribunal saying it was “fudged”.
The latest sanction was given after considering the KGS Group’s plea and rejecting BJP state president Kummanan Rajasekharan’s plea against the move. The sanction underscores the fact that the site, spread over 700 acres, has been cleared for the project. If the new EIA is accepted, the Aranmula Project will be back on track.
“The KGS Group was well within its rights to seek a fresh EIA after the first one was rejected by NGT,” said Mr James Varghese, a lawyer. But he said it was strange that the MoEF refused to blacklist the company...even though it was proven that it had fudged its earlier EIA. “This reluctance once again emphasises the fact that the MoEF is not against the project,” Mr Varghese said. The earlier EIA, which had declared that Aranmula did not have wetlands, was rejected by NGT on May 18, 2014. The Tribunal found that the consultant, Enviro Care, was not accredited with the MoEF. It was also concluded that the public hearing as part of the EIA was conducted in violation of rules. The KGS Group was also charged with manipulating the KITCO report. The KITCO report had a mention of lowering the height of the sacred pole of the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple for the airport. KITCO said that this was a fabrication. A CAG report too had stated that environmental clearance was obtained by the state through patently false submissions like the one that informed the Centre that the Legislative Committee on Environment in 2012 has not expressed any reservation against the project.
