On a visit to the city on Saturday, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh admitted to having received a proposal to shift the new airport from Navi Mumbai to Ambernath
On a visit to the city on Saturday, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh admitted to having received a proposal to shift the new airport from Navi Mumbai to Ambernath
"Yes, politicians from Thane district did approach me for considering the plan to shift the airport from Navi Mumbai to Ambernath. I have forwarded their proposal to concerned authorities," said Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Environment and Forests on a trip to Mumbai on Saturday. Ramesh's statement is a confirmation of the report carried by MiDDAY on July 24 titled, 'Airport at Ambernath?'
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| Jairam Ramesh at the Bombay Natural History Society office after visiting the site of the oil spill off Mumbai's coast. Pic/Shadab Khan |
MiDDAY had earlier reported that politicians from Thane district and builders were campaigning for the airport to be shifted to Ambernath. However, Praful Patel, Civil Aviation Minister had denied the news as rumours.
Subsequent media reports revealed that the Prime Minister himself was concerned about the delay in the upcoming airport.
On Saturday, while addressing the media, Ramesh expressed his reservations for the Navi Mumbai project, and said, "There are three main environmental issues, of which I give prime importance to the diversion of the two important rivers. If these rivers are diverted, Panvel city will be under water, and 400 acres of mangroves will be left damaged. A third of the 80-metre hillock will have to be cut down. These are all important issues."
Ramesh said he had also visited Mumbai's coast to survey the scene of the recent oil spill. "We will be granting compensation to fishermen for damages borne," said Ramesh. He lamented that not much can be done about mangroves being affected by the oil spill.
The spill has affected more than 100 kilometres of the coastal belt, which included a 70-km mangrove stretch.
The minister however was unaware whether the oil spill had affected mangroves in the belt of the proposed international airport area. "The mangroves will have to be regenerated. It is a natural process," said Ramesh.
Ramesh said this was a "freak accident, a unique accident, something that has never happened in the history of the country. We have to be prepared for the future, and take care. There are measures that have already been initiated and within seven months, a new system will be in place."
