Secretaries’ meet to resolve project stalemate

KOCHI: Chief Secretary Paul Antony has convened a high-level meeting with secretaries of various departments in the state capital on Tuesday to resolve the stalemate over Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) LPG Import Terminal work at Puthuvype.

Secretaries of key departments, including Industries, Science and Technology and Home, will attend the meeting which will look to find ways to restart the project work, stuck since February 2016 due to protest from locals.

Sources said Tuesday’s meeting will act as a prelude to a meeting of ministers in the coming days for discussing the crucial project for Kerala by the Central PSU. The Rs 715 crore cost of the LPG Import Terminal includes Rs 225 crore for the multi-user liquid terminal jetty, the work of which is continuing unhindered and is expected to wrap up in March.

IOC officers will make a detailed presentation to the secretaries at the meeting on how the project will benefit the state in general and the local community in particular.

Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D V Sadananda Gowda had, on Thursday at Thiruvananthapuram, reviewed Central government-assisted projects in the state. It was found the total cost overrun of the projects now stood at a whopping Rs 6,000 crore. Gowda had criticised the Kerala government for not taking much initiative in implementing Centrally-sponsored projects in a time-bound manner and sought its cooperation and support to complete the projects.

“The cost for the LPG Import Terminal will cross Rs 1,000 crore even if work on the project begins now. This is Rs 300 crore higher from the initial estimate,” said officers.

The IOC LPG Import Terminal project was initially approved in 2012. Revised approval for the project came in 2015. However, environmentalists and Puthuvype residents have been stalling work at the site, despite the project getting clearances from statutory bodies like the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Pollution Control Board.

A major contention by the islanders was fishermen will lose access to the sea once the project comes up. But in its order, NGT had said, “sufficient access is provided on the north of the site” for fishermen to enter the sea, as “proved by undisputed facts depicted in the maps provided.”

The officers said the meeting will discuss the project benefits – in terms of revenues as tax and the drastic reduction in road accidents caused by LPG tankers, as most tankers will be off the roads once the project comes on stream. Still, a major challenge will be convincing the locals on the benefits the project will bring to the local community.