Poshitra Port Marine National Park Jamnagar District News Gujarat India

The ministry of environment and forests has denied permission to set up a port in Jamnagar.

Experts in the ministry said the port was to be set up in an ecologically fragile area and would have destroyed the biodiversity. “A standing committee has rejected the permission to carry out environmental impact assessment and risk assessment for establishment of a Poshitra Port Jamnagar District Gujarat India. The proposed site falls within Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park which is very rich in marine biodiversity,” a senior official of the ministry said.

The 18th meeting of standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife was held on April 12. Senior officials in the ministry said the decision was made on the basis of a report of MS Swaminathan Committee that had recommended that no port should be developed in or around protected areas and ecologically fragile zones. “Members of the standing committee had carried out a detailed site inspection and recommended against the proposal,” the official said. Taking a tough stand against commercial use of resources from ecologically fragile zones, the standing committee also rejected a proposal to withdraw water from the Majthal Wildlife Sanctuary and laying of pipeline for carrying water for expansion of a cement plant by Ambuja Cement Pvt Ltd. The proposal was rejected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.