Traffic restrictions in Palghar for Vadhavan port public hearing on Friday

Mumbai: The environmental public hearing of the Vadhavan port project will be held at Palghar on Friday. Heavy vehicles have been banned in and around the venue where the hearing will be held from 11 am.

The hearing was earlier to be held on December 22. It was postponed to January 19 following the intervention of chief minister Eknath Shinde. Representatives of the Vadhavan Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti met Shinde and had complained about the 650-page environment impact report provided by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) being in English and difficulty in understanding it. Shinde directed that the documents be provided in Marathi and the public hearing be postponed to January.

JNPT and the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) signed a memorandum of understanding on June 5,2015 for the development of Vadhavan Port in Dahanu taluka, an economically fragile zone.

In 1997 when a similar attempt to construct an international port at Vadhavan was made by an Australian company, the Dahanu Taluka Environmental Protection Authority (DTEPA) had denied clearance. The proposal entails acquiring 571 hectares of private land and 1,000 hectares of government land. Protestors are worried about the direct impact the port will have on their livelihood.

Residents, environmental groups and affected persons can participate in the public hearing organised by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board at the district sports complex ground, Tembhode in Palghar.

Heavy vehicles from Boisar and Manor entering Palghar will be restricted from 7 am to 8 pm on Friday. Buses and heavy vehicles transport people to attend the hearing will not be stopped.