THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The speedy clearance given to the Terms of Reference (ToR) for conducting the crucial Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Vizhinjam seaport project just a few days after the UDF Government took over is suspect, former ports minister M Vijayakumar said on Thursday.The Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had denied clearance to the ToR twice, with the second denial coming on May 11-12. But the committee had cleared the proposal on May 31, just a few days after the Oommen Chandy Government assumed office."After the new Chief Minister filed a petition, the committee had taken back the same application through the Resident Commissioner and cleared it. This is nothing but a lowly political gimmick,’’ said Vijayakumar, who held the ports portfolio for the major part of the LDF rule before handing it over to V Surendran Pillai."If the Centre was that enthusiastic about the Vizhinjam project, it could have cleared the ToR in January itself, when the LDF government placed the ToR application before the MoEF,’’ Vijayakumar said. At its 95th meeting in January, the Expert Appraisal Committee had blamed the state government for filing a ‘vague’ proposal for getting the ToR cleared. In its 100th meeting on May 11 and 12, the committee asked Kerala to conduct the techno-economic feasibility study afresh as Vizhinjam would face stiff competition from Colombo, Tuticorin, Colachal and Chennai. The UDF Government was sworn in on May 18, and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had taken up the issue of the ToR with the Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, who promised a decision by May-end. Barely three weeks after rejecting the ToR application a second time, the application was cleared. Vijayakumar said that the State lost a precious five months with the MoEF playing politics.Meanwhile, Ports Minister K Babu said that the Government will go ahead with the ‘Landlord Model’ proposed for the Vizhinjam seaport project by the previous LDF government. A board meeting of the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) planned for June 15 will prove crucial for the multi-crore Vizhinjam seaport project. The deadline given to the 12 shortlisted companies for submitting their financial proposals ends on June 17. The June 15 board meeting will discuss the matter, he said.
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