Thiruvananthapuram: Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited CEO Dr Jayakumar termed the National Green Tribunal order as a “godsend”. “Though we have prepared a sound environment management plan for the Vizhinjam project, the NGT order will soon put in place a cutting-edge monitoring system,” Dr Jayakumar said. “Till now there was no clarity on how mitigation measures would be monitored and now the NGT order has given teeth to environment supervision,” he added.
The expert monitoring committee will be formed with representatives from some of the most reputed names in the field of science and environment like Indian Atomic Energy Agency and National Remote Sensing Centre. Compliance measures should be reported to the monitoring committee every six months. Dr Jayakumar said that most of the measures the NGT had proposed were already being implemented. Take for instance shoreline monitoring.
The NGT order states that 10 kilometres of shoreline on either side of the port should be monitored. “But we had been monitoring 20 kilometres of the shoreline on either side,” the CEO said. However, he said that the NGT order has widened the scope of environmental measures. It has issued a slew of directions including waste treatment and sewage treatment. “Areas that we had merely mentioned have now got an emphasis,” the CEO said.
