I/III.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/
Why did Environment Ministry withdraw Rs 200-crore penalty on Adani Ports?
DNA WEB TEAM | Sat, 2 Jul 2016-03:57pm , Mumbai , dna webdesk
After an investigation conducted in 2012, the UPA government had
imposed a fine of Rs 200 crore on Adani Ports for damage caused by its
Mundra port project in Gujarat.
The environmental ministry has quietly withdrawn the Rs 200-crore fine
imposed on Adani Ports during the UPA government reign, a Business
Standard report has said.
The government's move to overturn an earlier verdict where Adani Ports
was found to be guilty of causing widespread damage to the environment
act, was found when documents of the investigation between 2012 and
2016 were accessed through the Right to Information Act, 2016, by
Kanchi Kohli of the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Program, the BS
report says.
The documents show that some new senior officials, newly appointed,
helped overturn the decision on Adani Ports.
What is the case?
At 200 crore, it is the biggest-ever fine levied on a company for
causing damage to the environment.
The case pertains to the “destruction of local ecology, mangroves,
creeks and illegal reclamation of land,” unearthed by the Sunita
Narain Committee that was set up to investigate the company’s Mundra
project in Gujarat," the report says.
After the investigation, the Committee recommended a ban on the Mundra
project’s North Port, the report says, and sought a fine of Rs 200
crore or 1% of the project cost, whichever was higher. This was way
beyond the Rs 1 lakh penalty that the Environmental Protection Act
prescribes, the report says.
How did it happen?
Despite the company denying any wrongdoings and Gujarat government
backing the project, the Ministry went ahead and imposed the Rs
200-crore fine on Adani Ports. However, a final decision on the matter
was pending, the report says.
In the meantime, the Business Standard Report says, Jayanthi Natarajan
was replaced Veerappa Moily as the environmental minister, and
eventually by Prakash Javadekar of the NDA government.
The report says that Javadekar questioned how the damage to the
mangroves was ascertained, the new senior officials said satellite
data revealed the damage but it couldn’t be said for certain if Mundra
project was responsible for the damage. It says, this explanation was
accepted, and the Rs 200 crore fine was dropped by Javadekar.
II/III.
NEW DELHI, July 3, 2016
Updated: July 3, 2016 04:01 IST
Green fine on Adani port not waived: Ministry
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, in a late night statement on
Saturday, said the Adani Port and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), may have to pay a
fine far greater than what was fixed by the UPA government in 2012,
for the environmental damage caused by the construction of its port
project in Mundra, Gujarat.
However, it also underlined that a “fine” of Rs 200 crore, imposed on
the company during the UPA government’s tenure “was not backed by any
law under the Environment Protection Act and not legally correct.”
The ministry issued a statement signed by Bishwanath Sinha, Joint
Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(MoEFCC).
Sunita Narain report
This was in response to a media report on Saturday that claimed that
the APSEZ was spared from a Rs 200 crore fine that was imposed on the
company in 2013. That year, the United Progressive Alliance had issued
a show cause notice to M/s Adani Port and SEZ Ltd. based on a report
by a committee chaired by Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for
Science and Environment. The report — based on an investigation and
made public through a Right to Information query — recommended that an
Environment Relief Fund (ERF) worth one per cent of the project cost
or Rs 200 crore, whichever was higher, ought to be created to remedy
any environmental damage incurred.
It had also recommended the North Port, a key part of the project, be
done away with to preserve the area’s ecological balance. Other
recommendations include steps to conserve mangroves, manage and
dispose of flyash, control salinity, and prepare for disasters that
affect coastal zones.
However, the UPA government in April 2014 noted that the “creation of
ERF as not supported by any Law,” said Mr Sinha. Not withstanding
that, the NDA government has also accepted the recommendations of the
Sunita Narain Committee and, in its statement, said it had imposed
stringent conditions with open ended financial commitment by APSEZL.
“It is amply clear that MoEF&CC has not withdrawn its demand for
Rs.200 crore restoration fund. The decision of the ministry is much
more stringent than asking for Rs 200 crore from APSEZL,” the
statement noted. Calls and text messages by The Hindu to Ms Sunita
Narain and Mr. Sinha were not returned. The Adani group has also been
fined Rs 25 crore by the National Green Tribunal for environmental
damage caused by its Hazira Port in Gujarat.
III.
https://twitter.com/nit_set
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/
Why did Environment Ministry withdraw Rs 200-crore penalty on Adani Ports?
DNA WEB TEAM | Sat, 2 Jul 2016-03:57pm , Mumbai , dna webdesk
After an investigation conducted in 2012, the UPA government had
imposed a fine of Rs 200 crore on Adani Ports for damage caused by its
Mundra port project in Gujarat.
The environmental ministry has quietly withdrawn the Rs 200-crore fine
imposed on Adani Ports during the UPA government reign, a Business
Standard report has said.
The government's move to overturn an earlier verdict where Adani Ports
was found to be guilty of causing widespread damage to the environment
act, was found when documents of the investigation between 2012 and
2016 were accessed through the Right to Information Act, 2016, by
Kanchi Kohli of the Centre for Policy Research-Namati Program, the BS
report says.
The documents show that some new senior officials, newly appointed,
helped overturn the decision on Adani Ports.
What is the case?
At 200 crore, it is the biggest-ever fine levied on a company for
causing damage to the environment.
The case pertains to the “destruction of local ecology, mangroves,
creeks and illegal reclamation of land,” unearthed by the Sunita
Narain Committee that was set up to investigate the company’s Mundra
project in Gujarat," the report says.
After the investigation, the Committee recommended a ban on the Mundra
project’s North Port, the report says, and sought a fine of Rs 200
crore or 1% of the project cost, whichever was higher. This was way
beyond the Rs 1 lakh penalty that the Environmental Protection Act
prescribes, the report says.
How did it happen?
Despite the company denying any wrongdoings and Gujarat government
backing the project, the Ministry went ahead and imposed the Rs
200-crore fine on Adani Ports. However, a final decision on the matter
was pending, the report says.
In the meantime, the Business Standard Report says, Jayanthi Natarajan
was replaced Veerappa Moily as the environmental minister, and
eventually by Prakash Javadekar of the NDA government.
The report says that Javadekar questioned how the damage to the
mangroves was ascertained, the new senior officials said satellite
data revealed the damage but it couldn’t be said for certain if Mundra
project was responsible for the damage. It says, this explanation was
accepted, and the Rs 200 crore fine was dropped by Javadekar.
II/III.
NEW DELHI, July 3, 2016
Updated: July 3, 2016 04:01 IST
Green fine on Adani port not waived: Ministry
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Ministry of Environment and Forests, in a late night statement on
Saturday, said the Adani Port and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), may have to pay a
fine far greater than what was fixed by the UPA government in 2012,
for the environmental damage caused by the construction of its port
project in Mundra, Gujarat.
However, it also underlined that a “fine” of Rs 200 crore, imposed on
the company during the UPA government’s tenure “was not backed by any
law under the Environment Protection Act and not legally correct.”
The ministry issued a statement signed by Bishwanath Sinha, Joint
Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(MoEFCC).
Sunita Narain report
This was in response to a media report on Saturday that claimed that
the APSEZ was spared from a Rs 200 crore fine that was imposed on the
company in 2013. That year, the United Progressive Alliance had issued
a show cause notice to M/s Adani Port and SEZ Ltd. based on a report
by a committee chaired by Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for
Science and Environment. The report — based on an investigation and
made public through a Right to Information query — recommended that an
Environment Relief Fund (ERF) worth one per cent of the project cost
or Rs 200 crore, whichever was higher, ought to be created to remedy
any environmental damage incurred.
It had also recommended the North Port, a key part of the project, be
done away with to preserve the area’s ecological balance. Other
recommendations include steps to conserve mangroves, manage and
dispose of flyash, control salinity, and prepare for disasters that
affect coastal zones.
However, the UPA government in April 2014 noted that the “creation of
ERF as not supported by any Law,” said Mr Sinha. Not withstanding
that, the NDA government has also accepted the recommendations of the
Sunita Narain Committee and, in its statement, said it had imposed
stringent conditions with open ended financial commitment by APSEZL.
“It is amply clear that MoEF&CC has not withdrawn its demand for
Rs.200 crore restoration fund. The decision of the ministry is much
more stringent than asking for Rs 200 crore from APSEZL,” the
statement noted. Calls and text messages by The Hindu to Ms Sunita
Narain and Mr. Sinha were not returned. The Adani group has also been
fined Rs 25 crore by the National Green Tribunal for environmental
damage caused by its Hazira Port in Gujarat.
III.
https://twitter.com/nit_set
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