Press Release

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) demands that the AP Pollution Control Board
(APPCB) postpone the public hearing slated for 31 October 2017 in respect of the
Vishakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) expansion project. We have gathered from media
reports that a public hearing is to be conducted by the APPCB on VPT’s proposal to
expand two oil berths at a cost of Rs 193.31 crores.

It is shocking that the APPCB has neither announced the date of the public
hearing nor uploaded the prefeasibility environmental impact assessment report (EIA
report) of the said project on its website. It has thus failed to provide sufficient notice
to the public at large. The APPCB appears to have given up on its conventional practice
of posting the date of public hearing and uploading the relevant EIA report. A public
hearing is an important step in the EIA’s consultative process which cannot be
undermined in any manner. The exercise would be far more meaningful if the
notification is widely circulated as per the Environmental Impact Assessment norms.
By not doing so, a large section of society is deprived of valuable information that is a
pre-requisite for a meaningful rendering of opinion at the public hearing. In fact, the
denial of this information goes against the spirit of our Constitution and the
Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2006. A 30 day prior notice of the
public hearing is mandatory according to the EIA regulations and it ought to be explicit
so as to enable people from all walks of life to express their views about the project
proposal in an informed manner.

The Vizag Port Trust is one of the major contributors to air pollution in
Visakhapatnam city. People residing in the neighborhood of VPT have repeatedly
expressed grave concern about the pollutants from the Port taking a toll on their health
and well-being. We recall that the National Green Tribunal had to step in to address
this issue. Beach sand erosion has also become a cause of concern in this region. Many
oceanographic studies have proven the link between the presence of ports and beach
erosion. Apart from these requiring a studied response, an additional concern is the
location of several industries near the VPT. These have given rise to major
environmental concerns including the necessity for a cumulative
environmental impact assessment. All such concerns ought to be discussed and
addressed at a public hearing provided such a hearing is held in a meaningful manner.
In this instance, this is clearly not the case.

As the notification has not even been duly posted in the APPCB’s website, we
feel that the very purpose of the public hearing would be defeated. We have brought
this to the notice of the Chairman, APPCB and the District Collector and requested them
to issue a fresh notification so as to facilitate a fair assessment.

We reiterate that the APPCB should postpone the public hearing scheduled for
31 October 2017 and must issue a fresh notification for the same. We also demand that
the APPCB should post the mandatory 30 days’ notice of the public hearing on its
website and also upload the prefeasibility report in it.

K Sudha UG Srinivasulu
General Secretary, HRF President, HRF
AP State Committee AP State Committee

Dt: 22-10-2017
Visakhapatnam