Ghogha Seaport authorities, who were allegedly violating environmental norms in the beaching of a decommissioned ship, recently got a clean chit from a joint committee which was constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), as per a private complaint. Last year, in December, NGT had initiated proceedings based on a complaint by Robert Drawin after he pointed out that the beaching of the decommissioned ship, Dona Paula-II, at the port has led to a violation of environmental norms with local authorities conniving with the officials of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), according to an IE report. The joint committee, however, ruled that the wastes from the beached ship were disposed of “in an eco-friendly manner”.
Notably, the committee members include officials of the district magistrate, a Gujarat Maritime Board member, representatives of GCZMA under the state forest department as well as a GPCB official. In his complaint, Drawin had stated that the ship beaching was damaging the mangroves of the area as well as releasing harmful substances into the sea, thus damaging the fisheries and biodiversity of the area. Following this, in the month of January, the NGT had directed the constitution of a joint committee. On May 6, the panel submitted its report.
As per the report, the members of the committee interacted with local authorities, carried out a site visit to the Ghogha seaport as well as checked the current status of the decommissioned ship. According to the report, the ship was temporarily anchored at Ghogha seaport for inspection for repairing purposes and it was sent to Alang for demolition. GMB officials, while at the Ghogha seaport, submitted that the ship was beached at a certain distance from the mangroves, and during the committee’s site visit, the ship was no longer beached at the seaport. The report further said that in August 2021, GMB granted the ship cutting permission. The works of cutting and breaking were completed the same month.
Upon the inventory’s inspection, the committee noted that while hazardous materials like bilge water, marine oil, furnace oil, etc., were absent, the ship inventory included items like asbestos, lubricating oil, garbage, oily rags as well as lead acid batteries that have been disposed of in accordance with the norms. The NGT committee observed that images of the beached ship shared by GMB officials when it was anchored at Ghogha seaport “suggests that the ship is clear of the mangroves”.
It recorded that following the verification of disposal details of various wastes generated during the cutting and breaking of the ship, GPCB gave decontamination permission of the ship Dona Paula-II. According to the committee, this suggests that any chemical or harmful substances, etc., are not released into the sea and also, wastes generated are disposed of only in eco-friendly manner.
The committee’s report further concluded that the wastes present aboard and those generated during the cutting and breaking process at Alang were “disposed of in an eco-friendly manner” and that no “chemical or harmful substances, etc. are disposed of into the sea. Hence, the possibility of damaging the biodiversity as well as fisheries may be ruled out, it said. However, the report had made no mention of probing the allegations posed by the complainant against the local authorities colluding with the officials of Gujarat Pollution Control Board in violation of environmental norms.
