Nayachar chemical hub: Citizens’ panel slams govt
April 1, 2009.
A citizens’ committee, comprising geologists, chemists, chemical engineers, physicist, river scientists, doctors, economists and fish experts, has alleged that the government has withheld information on the proposed chemical hub at Nayachar.
The forum has been opposing the petroleum, chemical and petrochemical investment region (PCPIR), citing arguments, including damage to the Hooghly estuary, one of the most ecologically rich zones. A year of battling odds to extract details about PCPIR elicited little. After encountering numerous hurdles, the forum members assembled on Tuesday and vent their anger and frustration over the surreptitious way in which the West Bengal government was going forward with the chemical hub project.
“With utter disregard for public option and democratic principles, the government has withheld information regarding the PCPIR and transparency has been conspicuous by its absence. Some information was made available to us by the Centre six months after applying for it under the Right to Information Act. The three-page document had the barest information possible,” said Teachers And Scientists Against Maldevelopment secretary Bhaskar Gupta.
Reacting to statements by government functionaries that there are no major complications, including environmental ones, in going ahead with plans for setting up a mega petrochem complex at the very heart of the Ganga delta, Society for Direct Initiative for Social & Health Action (Disha) secretary Santanu Chacraverti said there was no scientific proof for such claims forthcoming from the government.
“From the document we have received, the PCPIR proposal itself describes petrochem industries as hazardous. It says the water around Nayachar will act as a buffer in case of any accident’, protecting the population of the mainland’. The description of life sustaining the Hooghly as buffer a kind of toxic shock absorber ranks as one of the most notorious instances of environment insensitivity, ” said Subrata Sinha, former deputy director general of Geological Survey of India.
With the government even refusing to enter into an open debate on the issue, the committee is evaluating other options including legal action to get the truth on the matter out before the public at large.
