Vedanta Univ site not under CRZ, Orissa tells MoEF

The forest and environment department of the Orissa government has written to its Union government counterpart that the site of the proposed Vedanta University Project (VUP) does not fall under the Coastal Zone Regulation (CRZ) area and so there was no possibility of violation of CRZ norms. “We have submitted the additional information sought by the ministry in this connection and also the map of the project site,” an official source said.

MoEF, the Union ministry, had suspended environmental clearance for the university project in May (it was earlier given in April) over issues pertaining to alleged violations of CRZ norms. In a letter to state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dated August 26, the Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had stated the information furnished by the Orissa Coastal Zone Management Authority (OCZMA) was not adequate and more information was needed.

Ramesh also said he’d got allegations of CRZ violations at the VUP site from MPs, MLAs and even a member of the technical committee of the OCZMA. The VUP to be developed by the Anil Agarwal Foundation has been envisioned as a multi-disciplinary university of international standards on the Puri-Konark marine drive, at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore. It is to have an intake of 100,000 students and to be spread over 6,892 acres.