Activists arrested in Bhadreshwar protesting the illegal construction work of the OPG Thermal Plant

TEN PROTESTORS ARRESTED, VILLAGERS MARCH TO THE POLICE STATION DEMANDING THEIR ARREST OR HALT CONSTRUCTION WORK OF THE OPG THERMAL PLANT

26th November 2011, Mundra - OPG Power Gujarat Limited has again initiated construction of its 300 MW thermal power plant, in its third attempt to break through the deadlock of opposition and regulation that has so far prevented the project from going ahead. The fisherworkers, salt pan workers and grazing communities living on the Bhadreshwar coast are aware of the serious impacts and changes this construction activity will bring to their livelihoods in the near future. Under the banner of Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan (MASS) a fishworker's trade union the villagers have been protesting against this initiative since 2009.

The OPG Group’s initial public hearing in 2009 to set up the 300 MW thermal plant was met with unprecedented and unanimous opposition from the local community mainly fishworkers, saltpan workers and farmers whose livelihoods are under threat due to the project. While the state SEIAA was deliberating on the issues, OPG applied to MoEF for expansion to 2600 MW, which clearly shows the mischievous intent of getting the two clearances parallel - 300 MW from the Gujarat State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and the ToR from the MoEF for the Environment Impact Assessment. The pending approval from the SEIAA was not at all mentioned in the application to the MoEF. This piece of information was only revealed when an RTI application was filed by MASS. A petition was sent to Mr Jairam Ramesh on 26 February 2010 which highlighted the OPG group has deliberately tried to mislead the concerned authorities, and therefore their proposal is liable to rejection invoking Section 8 (vi) of the EIA notification. It is important to note the number of irregularities done by this company. In June 2010, OPG received its environment clearance from Gujarat SEIAA for its 300 MW plant, with 121 conditions, however due to the location along the coast; this project also needed additional permissions under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), 1991 notification. This permission was denied by the MoEF Expert Appraisal Committee in July 2010. The company was asked to submit a revised proposal clearly stating that the coastal environment would be negatively impacted by the construction of an open channel. In spite of this, the company went ahead with its construction activity due to which it was slapped a show cause notice on 15th December 2010 by the MoEF.

On 16th September 2011 the company got its approval under the CRZ notification, yet again with a long list of conditions attached, however the forest permission (needed to convert lands for non-forest use) has not yet been granted. But the company has started its construction and is going ahead without obtaining necessary clearances. MASS has written a letter dated 1st November, 2011 to the Environment minister, forest department, police department officials highlighting this violation and urging immediate action. (Annexure 1). Instead of taking action to stop the illegal construction, the police department sanctioned police protection to the company for its illegal activities. MASS’ appeals to senior police officials to revoke their support to the illegal activities of the company met with deaf ears. (Annexure 2). Meanwhile, the company, emboldened by the inaction of the environment ministry and the support of the police, went ahead with the construction with the full knowledge that its actions are in clear violation of environment and forest laws.

The activists of MASS opposed this move and since the last four days the women from Bhadreshwar Bandar have been protesting against this unapproved construction with no complete clearance till now, which irked the company and today 26th November 2011, ten leaders and activists of MASS which includes Kirit Singh Javeja, Hussein Kara, Ahmed Majlia were arrested by the police and taken to the Mundra police station. Approximately 300 villagers have marched to the police station in Mundra and are protesting against this arrest and have made it clear to either arrest all of them, as that’s the only way the company can continue its illegal construction.

The people of Mundra coast are waging this struggle to protect the commons on which their survival depends, human dignity and right to livelihoods.

Community Gears up to Stop Illegal Activity by OPG Power Plant

Click here Sign a Petition to urge the Government officials to stop the illegal and fraudulent activities of OPG Power Plant.

The proposed 300 MW coal based thermal power plant promoted by M/s OPG Power Gujarat Pvt Ltd. in Bhadreshwar Village, Mundra Taluka, Kutch is not in public interest and being opposed by representatives of the affected local community due to the following reasons:

1. The company has tried to hide the impacts of the project by misguiding the public and the authorities about the location of the project and falsely stating in their EIA report that there is no habitation with 5 km radius of the power plant and that the nearest village Bhadreshwar is 5 km away from the project. But, in reality, air and water pollution from the power plant is likely to

a. Detrimentally impact the health of 20,000 villagers who live within a 5 km radius of the power plant
b. Affect marine life and affect the livelihood of 6000 fisherfolk residing on Randh Bander, which has the second highest Fish production in Kutch.
c. Pollute the salt manufactured in salt pans adjacent to the power plant thereby rendering the salt unfit for consumption or sale and depriving the salt pan owners and nearly 13,000 salt workers of their livelihood
d. Affect ancient historical and religious sites in the area, i.e. the Chokhand Mahadev temple, the 1500 year old Jain Vasai temple and pilgrimage centre and the Dargah Sharif, all of which are located within a 5 km radius of the power plant.
e. The project will also negatively impact the reserve forest area and a fledgling afforestation project being carried out by the Adani group, both of which are located within a 5 km radius of the power plant.

Thus, the company claim that there is no habitation in 5 km radius of proposed power plant is totally false and an attempt to mislead the authorities. See below the map of the 5 km radius area of the power plant.

* Click on the image to see the full size image.



2. The company has violated the provisions of the EIA Notification by submitting a false and misleading EIA report. The EIA report attempts to mislead the people and the Hon’ble members of the Environment Clearance committee both as to the location of the thermal power plant as well as its true impact on the health and livelihood of the local community and the environment.

3. The project is proposed to be set up in a CRZ area which is impermissible under the provisions of the CRZ notification, without prior clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The project faced strong opposition during the public hearing held on May 29th, 2009, See Public hearing for OPG Power Project in Bhadreshwar village, 29th May, 2009.

Detailed Memoranda have been sent to the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and MoEF officials, and also Honorable Minister of Environment and Forests, Shri.Jairam Ramesh with full details of the above issues seeking rejection of Environment Clearance for the Project.

While the local community is vehemently opposing the project for the above reasons, the company officials are violating Environmental laws by attempting to start construction of the project even before the GPCB clears the project. Legal notices have already been issued to Company officials not to start construction without Environmental Clearance and to the District administration not to abet the unlawful activities of the Company.

NEAA directs Gujarat Government to secure livelihoods of Mundra Fisherfolk

Nearly 10,000 fisherfolk are at threat of being displaced by the development of Adani port and SEZ along Mundra coast. Apart from the threat of displacement, the issue of decline in fish production due to pollution caused by the port activities and the SEZ industries has cast a doubt on the future of the fishing community.

When the Water Front Development Project’s public hearing came up in Nov 2008, the fisherfolks had raised their concerns about the likely loss of livelihoods and the threat to fishing due to the project. They had also pointed out the indiscriminate destruction of mangroves in the area and questioned the genuineness of the environmental clearance process as the Adanis had been carrying out construction activities for the project for the past six months without environmental clearance.

In spite of these objections, the project was given environmental clearance by the MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) in January 2009. In response, the fisherfolk launched an agitation under the banner of Machimar Adhikar Sangharsh Samiti (MASS) demanding that the state Government take measures to ensure that the livelihood of fisherfolk is protected.

The fisherfolk also approached the National Environment Appellate Authority in February 2009 in Manjalia Ahmad Ishak & Ors vs. Union of India & Ors where a prominent legal firm ELDF (Enviro Legal Defence Firm) represented the Fisherfolk and highlighted the issues.

In its judgment dated July 22, 2009, the NEAA has directed the Gujarat Government to ensure that any proposed activities of the Adanis' Water Front Development Project do not hinder safe access of fishermen to the sea through the traditional access including their use of bandars(Fishing Settlements). This is a significant order in view of the fact that the Mundra Port and SEZ Ltd., in its affidavit, claimed that there are no transient settlements or bandars in the project area. However, the NEAA refused to stay the ongoing constructions as sought by the petitioners on behalf of the fishing community. The petitioners had also raised the issue of violations by the Mundra Port and SEZ in the form of mangrove destruction, blocking of creeks and the start of construction prior to receipt of requisite permissions. In this regard, the NEAA has not given any ruling but has stated that the petitioners are at liberty to approach the concerned statutory authorities in this regard.

This Order comes as a huge relief to atleast thousand fisherfolk families and it is perhaps for the first time that the NEAA has passed such strict binding orders in its history of twelve years since it was created in 1997.
Sign a petition to save Mundra Coast and stop displacement of Mundra Fisherfolk

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Your support will help us to insist upon the Government and Industry to accept our demands.

Write to us at mass.kutch@gmail.com

Public hearing for OPG Power Project in Bhadreshwar village, 29th May, 2009.

The public hearing for EIA clearance for OPG’s power plant in Bhadreshwar was held on 29^th May 2009. The venue was Chokhanda Mandir, Bhadreshwar village, Mundra Taluk. The Gujarat Pollution control Board Regional Officer, J.D.Kalyani and Kutch Additional Collector Shri.Vaghela chaired the meeting. OPG project director Mr.Padmanabhan and company officials were present. Also, officals from Detox corporation, the Surat based agency that carried out the EIA were present.

A huge number of people numbering over 2000 persons from affected villages participated in a 2 km rally which ended in the venue of the public hearing. This included traditional fisherfolk, Salt pan workers, Pastoralists, farmers and other villagers from Bhadreshwar, Sangad, Wandi, Luni, Hatdi, Pavdiara and other villages, likely to be affected by the project. The venue was filled to capacity and there were more people waiting outside trying to participate in the public hearing.

Shri.J.D.Kalyani gave an outline of the environmental clearance process. The project details were presented by an official of Detox corporation. After his presentation, several locals held the mike and explained their view on the project, listing out various issues in the proposed power plant.

The issues are listed below:

1. MASS Leaders raised the issue of the fisherfolk. Randh Bhadreshwar Bander, which is situated 5 km from Bhadreshwar village and home to over 5000 fisherfolk has not been mentioned anywhere in the OPGs’ report, which is supposed to provide details of habitations in a 10 km radius. In fact, as per the latittude- logitude of the power plant provided in the EIA report, the power plant is coming up exactly on Randh Bander. Since 2004, the fisherfolk have been submitting memoranda to the district administration to recognize the Bander land as a Fish landing centre. A Gujarat Government report of 2004 recommends that the Randh Bander be developed into a modern fish landing centre. In this situation, the OPGs are planning to install a power plant and a desalination plant which will discharge pollutants in the air, highly saline water and warm water into the sea, which will affect the marine ecology. Fishing is the sole occupation of the traditional fisherfolk and deprived of it they will perish. To pacify the fisherfolk, the company officials promised to provide water to the fisherfolk from the desalination plant. But, the fisherfolk were unanimous in opposing the OPG power project and exclaimed, “We will bear lathi and bullets, but we will not let the OPGs near our land ”.

2. Villagers of Bhadreshwar dismissed the claim that the OPG power project is 5 km away from the nearest habitation. Within 5 km of the power project are the 5000 fisherfolk in Randh Bander, Bhadreshwar village with a population of over 6000 and over 5000 salt pan workers. Also, as per revenue records, the land on which the power plant is proposed, has not yet been procured by the OPGs. Local villagers asked, “When the land is not yours, how can you seek permission to build something on it?”. The company officials had no reply to these questions.

3. There are nearly 5000 acres of salt pans in the area around the proposed power plant. The salt pans produce over 5000 tonnes of salt every month valued at over 15 crores. Already, the salt pans are facing difficulties due to pollutants that emerge from industries, 10 kms away, that burn around 400 tonnes of coal per month. Now with a power plant hardly 2 kms away, that burns around 90,000 tonnes of coal per month, the salt pans will be seriously affected and the salt produced will be unsuitable for consumption and the salt pans will be forced to close down. Bikha Bhai, speaking on behalf of the salt pan association stated, “We have been pursuing our traditional livelihoods for decades. Now this project is threatening to snatch our livelihoods from us. We are against this project and our fight will not stop with this public hearing. If the project is cleared at the state level, we will go to the central government. If it cleared there, we will go to the courts. If it is still cleared, 10,000 of us, including salt workers and fisherfolk in this area will lay down our lives before this project is implemented”.

4. Traditional pastoralists also opposed the project on the grounds that the project will adversely affect them and their livelihoods.

5. The Sarpanch of Bhadreshwar viillage, Shri.Umar bhai took a strong stand against the project, on behalf of all the communities in Bhadreshwar Village. He said that companies like OPG state that they will take precautions, but in our experience, nothing is done in reality to protect the local environment. He quoted the example of the Adanis who had given several promises but nothing was implemented. He stated that this is not a question of Hindu-Muslims, the entire village is with the fisherfolk and united in opposing the OPG project.
6. As a sign of their Gandhian protest against the OPG power project, none, not even one of the 2000 people touched the food, not even water that was kept next to the venue, in a OPG food stall which looked deserted.
7. Soni Ben from lok Adhikar Manch said that widows in the area had been long demanding for 5 acres of land each, from the collector. But the collector refuses to even meet them But, when industries ask for land, the collector eagerly agrees to their demands. She said that the project will be of no use to the village and hence she is against the project.
8. Smt. Usha Ben Thakkar, ex-MP, Kutch, who had served on the Fisheries board condemned the plan to build the power plant in Bhadreshwar, stating that fisheries will be badly affected. Other leaders like Shri.Haresh Thakker, Dalit leader Shri.Valji Bhai opposed the plan to construct the power plant in Bhadreshwar and suggested that the p[ower plant be constructed in Little Rann of Kutch or other barren lands which were available in plenty in Kutch.
9. Panchayats of eleven affected villages submitted letters opposing the OPG project.

Even though the hearing was held on a Friday, a holy day for muslims, hundreds of muslim fisherfolk turned up at the hearing to raise a voice to protect their livelihoods. At the end of the meeting, the people from Bhadreshwar and neighbouring villages shouted, “We will give our lives, but not our land” in a clear and unanimous message to all the authorities, the OPG company and the Government that the people are not in favour of the project and they will strongly oppose any move to implement the project.

Our Demands

1. The bandars represent strategic locations from which fishing can take place. They represent the area where the fishing families stay put for 9 months every year. They also represent the areas where fish is dried. Nearly 90% of the fish caught in Kutch is dried and without this space, fishing will not be sustained. The Bander land should be allotted to us and the bander should be declared as a fishing zone.
2. Protection of the 5-7 km wide inter-tidal zone that is vital for fishing. Half the fishermen who are pagadiyas are entirely dependent on this zone. The boat fishermen also become pagadiyas during the June-Aug period and also depend on the inter-tidal zone for three months in a year. 5-7 km wide and 4 km long stretch of Intertidal zone in front of each Bander should be meant for fishing only and not used for any industrial development.
3. The access road from main road to the Bander should not be blocked. Permanent access to the bandars should be ensured. Trucks to take fish from the bandars should be able to freely come and go.
4. Creeks in the Mundra Coast should not be filled or blocked as they are used by us to navigate to fishing grounds. The creeks should be kept open for fishing boats to come and go.
5. The sea routes to the fishing grounds should not be obstructed by ships anchored on the routes to the port. Port operations and shipping should be regulated in a manner that will not affect operations of boat fishermen at sea.
6. Hazardous wastes and oil should not be dumped near the coast. Strict control over marine pollution due to port activities and the effluence from the SEZ industries—establishing a system that will provide fishing communities an opportunity to participate in the monitoring.
7. Highly Saline discharge from desalination plants can be treated and used for salt extraction, but should not be disposed in the sea near the shore as it will affect fishing. No Desalination plant or shipyard should be allowed near the fishing enclaves.
8. Destruction of Mangroves near the Mundra Coast should be stopped as mangroves are crucial for our livelihood. The mangroves destroyed/degraded in the last decade must be replanted to restore the marine resources like shrimp.

Kutch Fishworkers' Issues in the press

Google, Facebook power Kutch Fishing community protest The Indian Express, May 18, 2010

Port expansion poses threat to mangroves CNN IBN, May 05, 2010

Sea level rises, Gujarat coast in trouble CNN IBN, April 02, 2010

Environment clearance: A sham again India Together, March 23, 2010

Development and Displacement: Resentment in the Kutch Economic and Political Weekly, February 20, 2010

Villagers raise voice against land allotment for industrial purpose Indian Express, February 08, 2010

Tension grips Mundra Village over proposed power plant Indian Express, 28th August, 2009

Centre plans law to protect fishermen Times of India, August 13, 2009

May check if CRZ norms violated at Mundra: Jairam Indian Express, August 13, 2009

Govt to probe alleged CRZ violation by Mundra Port The Hindu, August 12, 2009

SC issues notice to Adani, others on Mundra SEZ Indian Express, August 11, 2009

SC issues notice to Adani, others on Mundra SEZ Live Mint, August 10, 2009

SC notice to Adani, others on Mundra SEZ Hindu Business Line,August 10, 2009

Gujarat asked to secure Fisherfolk's livelihood Mint, July 29, 2009

National body orders state govt to ensure unhindered fishing in Mundra Indian Express, July 28, 2009

Save India's Beaches NDTV 24x7, Series of programmes in 2009


See the complete story "Gujarat's Mangrove under threat" on NDTV 24 X 7, which reports on extensive environmental damage allegedly caused by the Adanis' Mundra Port and SEZ. NDTV 24x7, June 08, 2009

EIA clearance hearing for proposed Thermal plant witnesses strong protest Indian Express, May 30th, 2009

OPG Power Plant Opposed DNA, May 30th, 2009

Fishermen protest against Bhadreshwar power project Times of India, June 2nd, 2009

Fishermen Body threatens to boycott elections Indian Express,April 17th,2009

Port a threat to Mangrove forests in Mundra (Gujarat) Mangrove Action Project, Dec 27th, 2008

Mundra Waterfront Project at the cost of 10,000 families? Indian Express, Dec 07th, 2008

How Mundra became India's Rotterdam InfoChange News & Features, December 2008

Impacts of MPSEZL (Mundra Port and SEZ Limited) on environment and people of Gulf of Kutch Mangrove Action Project, Nov 14th, 2008

Satyagraha likely over land allotment to Mundra SEZ Thaindian News, July 10th, 2008

SC Stays construction on Adani Group's Mundra SEZ The Financial Express, July 01, 2008

Villagers veto sale of grazing land to Mundra SEZ India Environmental Portal, May 30th, 2008

Nature lovers upset as axe falls on Mangroves for SEZ Indian Express, March 22, 2008

Mundra SEZ spells displacement for fisherfolk Down to Earth, March, 2007