PIL on sand dunes' destruction: HC orders Collector to appear

The Gujarat High Court today ordered Kutch District Collector to appear in person in connection with a PIL accusing Adani group of destruction of sand dunes at the company-owned Special Economic Zone in Mundra taluka of the district.
The High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya had earlier ordered the state revenue department and the Collector of Kutch-Bhuj district to file a 'status report' on whether the Adani group has destroyed the sand dunes or not.
As the Collector did not file any report on the alleged sand dunes' destruction today as per the direction of the High Court, he was ordered to remain present before the division bench on July 28.

The High Court acted upon the PIL filed by Kutch-based citizen Pravinsingh Chauhan, who submitted that the Adani group had flattened the sand dunes near sea-shore at Tunda and Vandh village of Mundra taluka in Kutch.
Sand dunes act as natural wall to protect the region from any calamities that may arise from the ocean, including tsunami, high tides and cyclones, the petition said.
"The company (Adani) has started spreading the sand of the sand dunes backwards, showing that the sand dunes never existed and the land that is generated is reclaimed out of the dredging activities," the petition alleged.

The group has flattened as many as five sand dunes which existed to a height of nearly 15-21 metres at the sea shore at APSEZ in Mundra taluka, it further alleged.

"Adani Port SEZ (APSEZ) Limited has managed to get an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report on false facts," the plea alleged, adding that the report does not refer to any such sand dunes in the region.
The PIL has alleged that the group is also indulging in destruction of vegetation and mangroves which exist between the huge sand dunes which can result in irreparable ecological loss.
The PIL has demanded to stop all activities at the sand dunes in and around Tunda and Vandh villages in Kutch.