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Environmental impact study for the proposed port at Vizhinjam


Posted on 29 Jun 2011

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has cleared the terms of reference (ToR) for the site-specific environmental impact study for the proposed International Container Transshipment Terminal at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district, Minister for Ports K. Babu has said.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, he said the Union Ministry had earlier cleared the project-specific ToR for the mandatory environmental impact study. The formality of fixing the ToR for the study at the site specifically identified for the terminal was completed without any delay by the project appraisal committee of the Union Ministry, which met in New Delhi last week, Mr. Babu said. Rehabiliation package

He said the State government had announced a package of measures to rehabilitate the families that would have to be shifted from their houses for the sake of the project.

The families would get compensation at the rate of 150 per cent of the ‘enhanced value' assessed for their land in 2010. They would get five cents of land each free-of-cost for building new houses and Rs.3 lakh each in addition to the full cost of their existing houses, as assessed by the Public Works Department.

Six families would lose their houses and land in connection with land acquisition for the road connectivity for the project.

The Minister said alternative land for them to build new houses had already been registered in their names. Each of them would be given a price of Rs.2,90,000 for each cent of land acquired from them.

The five-cent plot being given to each of them free-of-cost were also in a location where each cent of land currently carried an equivalent price.

These families were given title deeds of the new plots on Tuesday.

In all, around 60 families would have to be rehabilitated thus for the sake of the project.

Source : The Hindu