Finally the big tamasha over proposed Navi Mumbai international airport has ended. No prizes for those who had already guessed the end result. The grand finale was very much expected. On November 22, sworn enemies Jairam Ramesh, the Union environment minister, and Praful Patel, the Union aviation minister, shook hands during a joint press conference at New Delhi June 17, 2009 , the ‘green messiah minister’ had informed Patel that the identified area was of great ecological value and “… no compensatory afforestation is possible to substitute for the loss of these mangroves.”
But 18 months down the line, several close-door meetings and site visits by the environment ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), it is a volte-face. Lo and behold, the environmental threats of reclaiming marshy coastal land, diversion of rivers and flattening of a 90-metre hillock have been reassessed and suitably adjusted. Terming it ‘fait accompli’ the environment minister cleared the project with a rider of 32 conditions the project developer, The City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (CIDCO), has to comply with. Expecting some criticism towards his recent move, Ramesh added, “Some environmentalists may still be unhappy, but I am firmly of the view that this optimisation is the best possible solution.”
After receiving the green nod, Patel is all set to fast-track the airport project that took 13 years to get environmental clearance. The project was proposed way back in 1997. Instead of the original four phases, Patel has asked for two-phased implementation of the project, with the first phase completing by 2015. The Navi Mumbai international airport, to be built on 1,160 hectares (ha) of land between Panvel creek and Karnala hills, is all set to be executed under the public-private partnership. It is only a matter of few more months within which the state government and CIDCO have to obtain some permissions, such as for cutting down of the mangroves, after which bidding for the project should begin. Navi Mumbai airport is finally ready for take-off.
Behind the scenes
While announcing the clearance, Ramesh accepted the change in his stance was a major, major compromise. Originally, the Navi Mumbai airport, as planned by CIDCO, was expected to be spread over 2,054 ha of land requiring razing down of 160 ha of mangrove. And that is not all. The proposed site falls under coastal regulation zone (crz) and has two rivers—Ghadi and Ulwe -- passing through it. Whereas Ghadi river flows along the boundary of the proposed airport, latter cuts rights across the proposed two runways. As per the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conducted by IIT Bombay and Pune-based CWPRS, Ghadi river would be ‘trained’, while Ulwe river would be diverted at a right angle. A 90-metre hillock that was obstructing the safe landing and take off of aircrafts would also be flattened, and the soil/debris/stones from the hillock would be used to reclaim the low-lying marshy land. Ingenious, some would say!
However, last year Ramesh took notice of this project’s ‘environmentally damaging’ nature and refused environmental clearance, asking project developers to look for alternate sites. What followed was a back and forth exercise with CIDCO officials making endless trips to the environment ministry justifying how their airport project was environmentally benign. Diversion of rivers would not cause flooding, assured CIDCO. The project developer was ready to tweak its plans to appease the green minister. Navi Mumbai airport was of utmost importance and any one opposing it was termed anti-development and anti-national. Media preferred to stay quiet on the issue and did not even bother to attend the public hearing, held in May this year, which was boycotted by all the 18 affected villages.
In July this year, both Ramesh and Patel had a public spat that was publicised well by media. Patel blamed environment ministry for delaying the clearance to the airport project; Ramesh claimed the project report submitted for clearance was not complete. In an interview to a news channel, Patel said, “There must be balance between infrastructure and environment... we cannot be so obsessive about environmental issues, that we cannot give priority to 50-100 acres of degradation over a large infrastructure project.” Arguments and counter-arguments continued for some more time.
But come August and the entire scene changed. How and why, is still not clear. In Ramesh’s words, “By August 2010, it was clear that for various technical and non-technical reasons, the Navi Mumbai location is fait accompli. I decided to accept it in good faith.” We have bargained, we have negotiated and we had compromised, he added. What a damp squib!
Bargain, is it good enough?
Here is the compromise Ramesh has been harping on. As per the original plan, Waghivali village, on the edge of Panvel creek, was supposed to have hotels and other non-aeronautical facilities. But environment minister has managed, at least for now, to keep Waghivali village out of the airport project area. CIDCO has agreed to drop hotels and other non-aeronautical facilities out of its project. Will such a move be financially feasible for the airport project remains to be seen.
Waghivali village will be turned into a mangrove forest, at least on paper. Never mind the fact that the state government and local authorities are incapable of protecting the existing mangroves in Mumbai metropolitan region.
CIDCO has been told to do mandatory mangrove plantation to compensate for the loss of 98 ha of mangrove forest. It is a different matter that scientists claim mangroves cannot be replanted. They occur naturally and provide local benefits, pointed out Vivek Kulkarni, a Mumbai-based ecologist and mangroves specialist. Ramesh, too, had admitted to this in his June 17 letter to Patel.
But on November 22, while making the big announcement, Ramesh seemed happy with the deal. “On mangroves … the overall picture is as follows: Before the project, the site has 161 hectares of mangroves. Now, as a result of this compromise, the site area will have (161-98)+60+245+310=678 hectares of mangroves. By any standard, this is a hugely positive accomplishment from an ecological point of view,” he said. We can only hope that CIDCO manages to do even half of the promised!
Ramesh has bargained and got the distance between the two runways decreased from 1,800 metres to 1,555 metres. This, said Ramesh, will ensure that Ghadi river is not diverted. But, if you look at any official project documents, Ghadi river was never to be ‘diverted’. It was only to be ‘trained’. This fact was repeated a number of times by Jayant R Kulkarni, general manager, CIDCO during the May 5 public hearing. So no brownie points for Ramesh.
Meanwhile, Ulwe river that cuts across the proposed airport area will be diverted. A 90 metres hillock would be flattened. One of the channels of Ghadi river would be filled up. Over 1,000 ha of low lying coastal land would be reclaimed/filled up for airport construction. And despite changes, comprehensive and new EIA report can be filed later.
The concerns of affected villagers, who parted with their land some 40 years back, still remain unaddressed. Environment ministry has directed CIDCO for a speedy rehabilitation of 3,000 project affected families. All these families had boycotted the public hearing and over 200 villagers had marched to the public hearing site waving black flags. They had handed over their demands to the district collector and demanded their due share. While acquiring their land, farmers were promised 12.5 per cent land, besides monetary compensation and a government job. None of it has come through in the last four decades. Many farmers are still running from pillar to post to receive compensation. Court cases are already on.
And now, with the airport project clearing the final hurdle of environmental clearance, it will be no surprise if demands of these families remain unfulfilled. Like the other countless, faceless Indian villages opposing the anarchic land acquisition, these 18 villages will also disappear into oblivion.
The learnings
But all this tamasha for the last one and a half years is not a total waste. There are some important ‘lessons’ to learn. First and foremost, industries and project developers need to change their well-known tactics of getting projects cleared. Till now, industries use to seek environmental clearance in parts. For instance, if a 100 tonnes per day (tpd) sponge iron factory had to be set up; the project promoter would first apply for 50 tpd. Once the 50 tpd facility was up and running, capacity additions would be done.
But Navi Mumbai airport case has changed the course of such dealings. Industries/project developers should now inflate their projects and apply. Environment ministry is sure to object. And that is when the bargain will begin. Give or take a few clauses, the project would soon see light of the day. This would be like killing two birds with one stone. Environment ministry would be successful in maintaining its ‘green’ image. And industry, too, would be up and running. Bull’s-eye!
But here is also a little suggestion for the authorities and the state government. Reclaiming over 1,000 ha of low lying marshy land right on a creek that drains out excess rainwater from the entire Panvel region going up to Matheran hills, is sure to have some impact. For instance, it may lead to frequent flooding because of lack of holding ponds/open spaces. Residents agree. “In the four months of monsoon season we receive heavy rainfall. The entire water of the area gets drained into Panvel creek, thanks to the Ulwe and Ghadi river. With one river getting diverted and the other’s channel getting filled up, it is anyone’s guess what will happen here,” said D Ganesh, a resident of Navi Mumbai. We must prepare ourselves for more 26/7 type deluges, added Ganesh.
Keeping this in mind, may I suggest the government to make swimming mandatory for all those residing in the Mumbai metropolitan area. Flooding in Mumbai is commonplace. It no more makes breaking news. With urbanisation and ongoing mindless construction mania, situation will only worsen. Not to forget, climate change and global warming are already causing sea level rise. This is not a warning from an ‘apocalypse now’ environmentalist. NEERI, a Central government research institute, has put an economic cost to Mumbai’s flooding.
In this bargain, we must adapt, else we all would be at sea. Literally.
