Power plants threaten 150-km stretch of Ratnagiri coastline……Viju B
MoEF Promises To Do Cumulative Eco Assessment
Mumbai: There are two operational power plants in the 150-km stretch between Dapoli and Jaitapur along the Konkan coast in Ratnagiri district.The government has also given clearance to a coalbased plant at Rampur in Ratangiri and a 9,900 MW nuclear power plant at Madban Jaitapur.Proposals for another four coal-based power plants in the 150-km stretch are lying with the Centre for approval.Once these are cleared,there will be eight power plants operating along the ecologically sensitive coastline.
Environmentalists have expressed concern,as while each individual plant may be adhering to the norms laid down by the MoEF,both the central and state governments have failed to take into account the total impact of all eight plants on the environment.In fact,a preliminary impact assessment study done by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) shows that the power plants will spell ecological disaster for the region known for its mangrove lands,mudflats and biodiversity.
The first phase of the one-year study has found at least 11 eco-sensitive sites along the Konkan coast in Ratanagiri district,which will bear the brunt of the hot thermal discharge from these plants.
The report has now been submitted to the MoEF.Taking cognizance of the study the Union minister of Environment and Forests (MoEF) Jairam Ramesh admitted that the report has raised serious environmental concerns.We need to do a cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment study (EIAS) instead of looking at individual assessments, Ramesh told TOI.
The MoEF,he said,will collaborate with the government of Maharashtra to carry out cumulative environmental impact assessment studies in Raigad,Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts.I have discussed the issue with Madhav Gadgil,chairman of the Western Ghat ecological panel,and he is putting together a proposal for such a study to be conducted by the end of December, said Ramesh.The mammoth 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant,the largest in the country,was given environmental clearance on Sunday.Two other power plantsone coal-based and another gasare already operational.(See box)
Thermal dischargethe hot water discharge from all the plants will not only destroy the corals reefs but will adversely affect the marine ecosystem.Even a natural phenomenon like El Nino (an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific) affects reefs through temperature anomalies of 0.5-1 degree Celsius over a period of two to three weeks, said marine scientist and deputy director of BNHS Deepak Apte who led the research team.
If the thermal stress continues for a longer duration,that iis of over 30 days,it will sound the death knell for the coral reefs along the Ratnagiri coast.
It is not one big power plant,but eight plants that will be discharging watertemperatures of which will be five degrees Cecius higher than normal for decades,”said Apte.