Honnavar port project: NGT final hearing next month

The controversial project to build a port in the Kasarkod beach of Honnavar, which put the town on the edge, will be taken up for final hearing by the National Green Tribunal next month.

The tribunal’s southern zone bench is hearing a petition filed by Janardhan P Mesta and another against the environment clearance given to the Honnavar Port Private Limited.

As per the nod given in 2012, the project involved development of a barge/vessel loading facility in 44 hectare to handle 4.9 million tonnes of cargo per year.

The petitioners have said that the clearance, which was extended multiple times, expired in 2023. The company sought a fresh clearance in June 2024, which was allowed by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) by giving an exemption to the public hearing.  

“They have no powers under the EIA notification, 2006 to exempt the requirement of public hearing in favour of any project proponent, unless the notification specifically grants such exemption,” the appellants have said.

The petitioners have also questioned the SEAC’s defense that it has followed the example of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which granted exemption to a similar project. The petitioners describe it as an effort to cite an “illegal order,” and one illegality cannot be invoked to support another.

The petitioners demanded to know why the authorities have not admitted before the tribunal to the existence of a proposal for another port nearby. They also questioned the reasoning for clearing a project on a beach known for its olive ridley turtle nesting ground.

The tribunal took up the matter recently and saw that both parties have filed the necessary responses. “As the pleadings are complete, let the matter be listed on 16.04.2025 forthe final hearing,” a bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati said.