Promoters of KGS Aranmula International Airport to appeal against NGT ruling
On Wednesday, the promoters of central Kerala’s controversial KGS Aranmula International Airport said that they would submit an appeal in the Supreme Court against a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling.
The NGT verdict which the Aranmula airport promoters will oppose is the ruling which has set aside the environment clearance which the promoters had received for the project from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The verdict under which the environment clearance for the airport project had been cancelled was handed out by Justice M Chockalingam and R Nagendran, respectively the judicial member and the expert member of the tribunal.
A number of reasons were cited for the cancellation of the airport project’s environment clearance; with the most noteworthy of the reasons being the alleged incompetency of Enviro Care, the agency which had carried out the study on environmental effects of the proposed project.
In addition, the NGT had also observed that the public hearings conducted by the airport project’s promoters, Chennai-based KGS Group, had violated the mandatory provisions.
Meanwhile, revealing that the KGS Group will prepare a new environment impact assessment report to rectify the lapses in the previous report, the group’s managing director Gigi George said: “We hope that the judgment of the tribunal will be reversed in the Supreme Court. We are also ready to go for public hearing again. I am confident of commissioning the first phase in two years time.”
Source – The Financial Express
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