The National Coastal
Zone Management Authority in the Union Ministry of Environment
and Forests has asked the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to recast
and resubmit its proposal for permission to undertake certain
port related developmental activities in the Coastal Regulation
Zone. The Authority at a meeting chaired by Shri V.K.Duggal, Spl.
Secretary in the Ministry yesterday considered the JNPT’s proposal
for developmental works during the next 20 years.
In a detailed presentation
made by the port officials, it was indicated that various developmental
works entailing an investment of over Rs. 5000 crore are proposed
to be taken up and scheduled for completion by 2006 even as they
sought the Authority’s permission for taking up works in the next
20 years. The proposed works include the Rs. 3000 crore Marine
Chemical Terminal, Rs. 900 crore Conversion of Bulk into Container
Terminal, Rs. 700 crore Capital Dredging for Deepening and Widening
of Channel, Rs. 357 crore Road Connectivity Project and Rs. 50
crore doubling of Panval-Jasai rail line.
Shri V. K. Duggal,
Chairman of the National Coastal Zone Management Authority and
other members felt that the Port Management should resubmit a
more realistic plan with a more reasonable timeframe guided by
the perspective of Coastal Zone Management Principles. Shri Duggal
and other members also enquired about the financial tie ups for
the proposed projects and the essentiality of the facilities proposed
to be developed.
The Jawaharlal Nehru
Port at Navi Mumbai, formerly known as Nahva Sheva Port was commissioned
in 1989 with an acquired area of 2584 hectares. Subsequent to
the notification of Coastal Regulation Zone Rules 1991 some of
the area acquired by the Port has come under Coastal Regulation
Zone. Stating that a large back up area is a prime requirement
for the development of a major port, JNPT has approached the National
Coastal Zone Management Authority for permission to take up port
related activities like tank farms, warehouses for export and
import of goods, container freight station etc. in the already
acquired area. Port officials informed that the Jawaharlal Nehru
Port is proposed to be developed as a hub port in the Western
region under the Vision 2020 plan and is to be developed as a
container port and to receive mainline vessels with deeper draft.
The officials also said that major international ports have a
large terminal area as in the case of Rotterdam Port with 10,000
hectares terminal area, Antwerp Port with 10,400 hectares, Osaka
Port with 7,200 hectares and Hongkong Port with more than 6,000
hectares.
The National Coastal
Zone Management Authority also discussed a proposal for demarcating
a standard High Tide Line (HTL) for the entire coastline which
would serve as a standard reference point for regulatory purposes.
The Coastal Regulation Zone extends upto 500 meters from the High
Tide Line. Dr. M. Baba, Director, Centre for Earth Science Studies,
Thiruvananthapuram and Dr. Shailesh Nayak of Space Application
Centre, Ahmedabad have been asked to prepare a base paper in this
regard for further discussions at a Workshop to be organized in
due course.
The National Coastal
Zone Management Authority consists of 11 members concerned with
Conservation, Town Planning, Central Ground Water Board, Central
Water Commission, Tourism, Fisheries, Ocean Management, Space
Applications and Earth Science Studies.
