Turtle alarm goes off after road asphalting gets OK

Hubballi: Authorities in Karnataka have greenlighted the asphalting of a 'kaccha road' that runs alongside the nesting grounds of the critically endangered olive ridley sea turtle in Honnavar taluk of Uttara Kannada district.

The clearance granted by the Karnataka State Coastal Zone Management Authority (KSCZMA) for the road in Kasarkod Tonka has triggered alarm among local fishermen and activists, bringing the development versus environment debate into spotlight again.

The road is being developed by the Director of Ports and Karnataka Maritime Board to provide better connectivity for the proposed private port in the village.

Subject experts, who attended the 43rd meeting held virtually recently, said they opposed the project, fearing it would play havoc with the nesting grounds of the reptile.

However, the 10-member committee comprising seven government officials and three subject experts approved the proposal that falls in notified port limits where the no-development-zone (NDZ) rule is not applicable as per the provisions of the CRZ notification of 2011.

The KSCZMA has, however, rejected the proposal for laying a four-lane road connecting the port with National Highway 66. 

Marine Biologist and activist Prakash Mesta said the black-topping of the kaccha road is a clear indication that the construction of the port will commence.

“The NGT has given clear instructions that the company has to get new environment clearance (EC) from competent authorities. However, utilising the loopholes in the system the company got an extension of the EC by one year, though it had expired two years ago,” he said.

Local fishermen have been waging a legal war against the setting up of a private port as it would have a cascading impact on the ecologically sensitive Sharavathi estuaries and the Kasarkod beach, where the olive ridleys lay their eggs on the sandy beaches.

Mesta also questioned the logic behind having four major ports  — Mangaluru, Karwar, Keni near Ankola and Honnavar — in a 200-km range, at a time when the two operational ports are not even functioning at 50% of their capacity.

Scientist M D Subash Chandra, a KSCZMA member, said experts objected to the asphalting of the kaccha road. “I have given my objection in writing too, stating that it has a damaging impact on ecologically sensitive areas,” he said.

NGT orders

KSCZMA Member Secretary R Gokul said the petitioners have themselves conceded in the NGT about the existence of the road.

“The approval for the port project was given in 2012 on the PPP model," said Gokul. "The private company has taken all the permissions required for the project. If we deny them an exemption to lay the asphalted road, the company would go to arbitration and force the government to pay nearly Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore as interest (at 18% per annum for 10 years) for denying permission to start the project.” 

Gokul said the proposed road is within the port area and works related to the port are exempted under CRZ norms.

Captain C Swamy, in-charge director of Karnataka Ports and Inland Water Transport Department, said his department would obtain the required EC from the government and go as per the orders issued by the NGT.

“We are developing the ports as per the rules. Look at Gujarat which has 49 operational ports and 209 minor ports. Why can’t Karnataka have at least four major ports?” he said.

Efforts to reach the private company did not yield any results.