The NGT has summoned a report from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests regarding water transport projects in the Ganges River. The NGT has asked the ministry to clarify whether there is a need to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for inland waterway projects from Varanasi to Haldia in the Ganges River.
A bench headed by National Green Tribunal (NGT) chairman Justice AK Goel noted on Thursday that the committee of experts constituted by the environment ministry has not filed its report even after more than a year has passed.
The NGT bench is hearing a petition filed on behalf of Bharat Jhunjhunwala and others, citing point 7 (e) of the schedule of the EIA notification. According to this point, the port, port, backwater, and dredging will require clearances. However, it is further stated at this point that dredging is excluded from this scope for repair.
The petitioner cited an affidavit of the Ministry, in which an expert committee has stated that the proposal for the implementation of Jal Marg Vikas Project for promotion of shipping assistance in Varanasi-Haldia section of National Waterway-1 falls under the EIA Notification 2006. Later it was removed from the purview of the EIA in a meeting between the Ministry of Environment, Road Transport, and Water Sources.
This is Prime Minister Modi's ambitious project
The inland waterway from Varanasi to Haldia is being developed under the Waterway Development Project (JMVP) as National Waterway-1 (NW-1) with technical and economic support from the World Bank. The project is managed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
According to the Union Ministry of Shipping, the waterway is the dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with an estimated cost of around Rs 5,369.18 crore ($ 800 million). It is being developed in collaboration with the World Bank and the Government of India 50-50. IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) will get $ 375 million out of the cost of about $ 800 million.