The suspense over the Nauxim Marina projectcontinues after the State government telling the High Court on Monday that apublic hearing into the project will be held only after the finalization of theCoastal Zone Management Plan. Let's put the sequence of events intoperspective. On January 26 this year, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said thathis government has decided to drop the Nauxim Marina project. He went on to addthere would be no public hearings on the project since the proposal standsshelved due to people's opposition. However, the very next day the AdvocateGeneral, representing the State in the High Court against a petitionchallenging the jurisdiction of the MPT to lease water area, appeared ignorantof the government's decision to shelve the project.
The decision to open up hearings after thefinalization of CZMP is a complete betrayal of trust and appears to be intendedto deflate a fierce agitation that threatened to embarrass the governmentfurther, soon after it had failed to bow down to the people of Sattari on thecontroversial IIT project. The government including an initially defiantVishwajit Rane had to beat a retreat and succumb to the pressure of the localsof Sal Melaulim and surrounding areas, and it was at that time the marineagitation was gaining momentum.
If the government is attempting to give abackdoor entry to the Marina despite the environmental concerns and protest,then it is once again setting a dreadful precedent. With such flip-flops,common citizens will no longer respect the timelines and assurances, and therewill always be an element of distrust. The submission in the High Court meansthat the plans of the Nauxim marina were only kept in abeyance because of theturmoil over the coastal plan finalization. Let's not forget that the entirestretch of the proposed marina comes under 'ports limits' demarcated in thedraft CZMP. If the coastal plan gets a green signal in its current form, itwould virtually sound a death kneel to the Nauxim agitation since the coastalplan will be an endorsement of the jurisdiction of the MPT.
By calling time-out on the agitation, thegovernment has deceivingly muted angry public voices against the project. Ifthe announcement on dropping the marina was not made then, it would have beentoo much to handle for the State government which was licking its wounds afterthe IIT failure and was facing intense agitations against the three linearprojects and coal expansion.
The CZMP hearings of March 7 turned out to be afarce, and it only reflects the sad fact that a concerted effort was made tobulldoze through the plan without fair public participation. This sets adisturbing trend for any future public hearings, especially when there ispublic opposition to projects. Who knows, the marina hearing could well go thesame way leaving stakeholders and affected people, mere spectators.
The Chief Minister must explain to the peopleabout plans to revive the marina, the motive behind his January announcement toshelve it and the current change of mind. This betrayal of trust could havebigger consequences.
