Mahuva hails MoEF report on Nirma`s cement plant

Even as Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC) constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) placed a report before the Supreme Court on Tuesday recommending relocation of Nirma Ltd's cement plant at Mahuva, agitating farmers in the region have welcomed the report of the expert body.

"The MoEF's report is in favour of farmers and in environment. Though it is in our favour, we are in wait and watch mode as the Supreme Court's judgement on the issue is yet to come," said Kanubhai Kalsaria, a rebel BJP MLA from Mahuva, who spearheaded the farmers movement against the cement plant by Nirma.

According to Kalsaria, the MoEF report also states that despite a plan to connect two check dams, the state government did not go ahead with this plan to favour Nirma, following which farmers in Mahuva themselves decided to connect both the check dams. Apparently, MoEF has also concluded in its report that the land allotted to Nirma by the state government in 2008 under the Vibrant Gujarat program was an environmentally sensitive wetland.

"The report will provide a great fillip to the movement launched by the farmers of Mahuva," added Kalsaria

Similarly, Bharatbhai Shiyal, one of the protesters against the Nirma plant, said that villagers in Mahuva are happy for the support shown by the Centre. "People in Mahuva are happy over the Centre's move to seek relocation of the cement plant. However, we are still cautious till the Supreme Court doesn't come out with a decision for or against such relocation since the High Court was not in favour of the Mahuva farmers. Nevertheless, awareness programs will continue from our side," said Shiyal.

Farmers from 12 villages in Bhavnagar under the banner of Shree Mahuva Bandhara Khetiwadi Pariyavaran Ran Bachav Samiti (SMBKPRBS) district had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Gujarat High Court last year. They had opposed the project on the ground that out of the 268 hectares of land allotted to the company for the plant, around 222 hectares was part of a natural wetland.

The farmers from Mahuva have been agitating the allocation of land to Nirma for their proposed cement plant for a period of over four years as the state government had allocated a land, which has a reservoir and catchment area spread over 268 hectares. Nirma has proposed a 1.91 MTPA cement plant with 50 Mw captive power plant and 1.5 lakh TPA coke oven, on coastal belt of Mahuva Taluka in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.

Sometime back, a rally of over 5,000 farmers protesting against the construction of the 1.91 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) cement plant at Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar, reached Ahmedabad.

The farmers' rally, led by BJP MLA Kanubhai Kalsaria, travelled a distance of 350 kilometer on foot after it started on March 3 from Mahuva in protest of the upcoming cement plant.