SC issues notice to Kerala govt, others over Adani port construction

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Kerala government and Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd, a special purpose government company, on a plea seeking to stop construction of a deep sea port in Vizhinjam, near Kovalam in Kerala.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones Ltd (APSEZ), India’s biggest private port operator, had won the contract for the ₹ 6,000-crore project. Work on the port began on 17 November.

The petition seeking the stay claimed that the site is ecologically sensitive and alleged that the green clearance given was illegal as the area comes under Coastal Regulation Zone-I norms.

A bench comprising justices J.S. Khehar and Rohinton F. Nariman also said the two bodies will be responsible for “restoring the environment to its original position if the court thought it fit to interfere with the construction activity”.

The court will hear the case next on 6 January.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing a fisherman near Vizhinjam, claimed that construction would destroy the local ecosystem, adding that laterite cliffs were being removed for constructing the port.

However, the state government and Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd said that extensive consultation and 17 technical reports on the feasibility of project were carried out before the environment clearance was granted.