Acting on a recommendation of a committee of environmentalists, the Union Environment Ministry has asked Adani group to create a green restoration fund of Rs 200 crore for repairing the environmental damage done to Mundra in Gujarat. Adani’s port and SEZ projects are coming up in Mundra.
The Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan stated that she asked Adani to create the fund after accepting an environmentalist Sunita Narain-headed panel’s recommendation. The Committee’s report had said that due to non-compliance of environmental clearance rules by the company, there have been widespread destruction of mangroves and deterioration and loss of creeks near the proposed North Port.
The five-member committee, in its report submitted in April, had asked the government to create an environment restoration fund, which should be one per cent of the project cost (including the cost of the thermal power plant) or Rs 200 crore, whichever is higher.
The panel said that the fund should be used for remediation of environmental damage in Mundra and for strengthening the regulatory and monitoring systems. The Adani waterfront and power plant project have been in the eye of a storm for its adverse ecological impact.
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