Thiruvananthapuram: The role of Adani Ports in perpetuating the danger that lurks under the navigation channel of Muthalapozhi harbour was the major point of contention in the Kerala Assembly on Monday. A heated debate on Adani's failures was occasioned by an adjournment motion moved on the plight of Muthalapozhi fishermen by Congress's Kovalam MLA M Vincent.
Already 73 people have died in Muthalapozhi in the last eight years, and 29 of them right in the mouth of the estuary.
Minister for Fisheries Saji Cherian himself said the major reason for the deaths was the accumulation of sand in the mouth and navigation channel of Muthalapozhi harbour. And the responsibility to remove the sand and maintain the depth of the navigation channel at five metres is vested with Adani Ports.
This obligation fell upon Adani Ports under an agreement it had signed with Kerala's Harbour Engineering Department on April 10, 2018. The agreement primarily was to grant Adani Ports permission to dismantle the northern portion of the southern breakwater of Muthalapozhi harbour to construct a loadout facility.
This facility was to stock the rocks that the company transported in barges from various places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the construction of the breakwater of the Vizhinjam Port. The continuous dredging of the Muthalapozhi channel was the favour the government asked in return. Adani Ports also agreed to carry out timely maintenance of the two breakwaters of the harbour.
Minister Saji Cherian said that Adani Ports had done the dredging. "It also removed 80 per cent of the rocks and tetrapods that were scattered in the bottom of the channel," Saji Cherian said.
The minister claimed that the government had taken strong measures to maintain the depth of the navigation channel. He said the Adani Group was even told in no uncertain terms that the depth should be maintained. "It is with great pride that I say that we have done all that is humanly possible to solve the issues at Muthalapozhi," Cherian said.
If the depth is still two metres, life-threateningly shallow, he blamed it on the weather, than on Adani. "During the last meeting, Adani Ports had said it was difficult to bring dredging machines to the harbour because of the strong waves," Cherian said. "This is why now sand is removed using three long-boom and two short-boom excavators," he said.
Later, provoking the minister, Vincent said dredging was now done using "JCB machines.”
Vincent also reminded that a minister-level meeting held on May 2 had told Adani Ports to begin dredging before May 15. "It was also decided that if Adani could not bring a dredger the government would take dredgers on lease from private contractors," Vincent said. "Nothing has been done and there is unpardonable negligence in removing sand," he said.
Considering the 'bad weather' excuse, the government had given Adani Ports an extension. The deadline of even this extension has ended on June 6. The minister hinted that the government was thinking of giving another extension. "The government has still not decided whether to give another extension or to walk out of the agreement (with Adani) and carry out the dredging ourselves," the minister said.
Cherian's speech was also not short on rhetoric. "The government has the strength and courage to make Adani Ports do what they are obliged to do," he said, and added: "You should understand that we are not in the payroll of Adani."
Opposition leader V D Satheesan punctured the minister's claim. "You had conducted three meetings this year, on January 3, January 20 and April 4. The assessment of your officials in these three meetings was that Adani Ports had failed in discharging its obligations," he said. "This being the official conclusion, why did you give Adani another extension? You should have either set them a deadline and asked them to complete dredging by that time or the government should have carried out the dredging and the bill sent to Adani Ports. You did none of this and still granted extension," he said. "Are you with the poor fisherfolk or Adani," Satheesan asked.
The minister intervened at this stage and repeated his earlier argument that it was bad weather that had caused Adani to delay dredging activities.
Satheesan had a counter. "When did it become difficult to take the dredger to Muthalapozhi," he asked. "It became hard only with the onset of monsoon. But is it during rains that dredging has to be taken up? The activity had to be conducted earlier," he said.
Satheesan pointed out that two meetings on expediting dredging at Muthalapozhi were carried out on January 3 and 20. "At that time there was nothing that prevented a dredger from reaching Muthalapozhi. It was the failure to carry out dredging at the right time that is causing the deaths," he said.
Curiously, the minister showed a clear unwillingness to blame Adani Ports. It is also a fact that, after the completion of the Vizhinjam breakwater, Adani Ports have no more use of the loadout facility at Muthalapozhi. Sources in the Harbour Engineering Department had told Onmanorama that in the changed circumstances it would be difficult for the government to enforce the agreement with Adani. "The Adani group keeps saying they would do the dredging works but seem least interested," a senior official said.
The only option left is for the government to take over the dredging works on a war footing. But the government seems undecided.
