Will airports alter India's coastline?

New Delhi: A new draft government notification on coastal management allows development of greenfield airports in ecologically sensitive areas like mangroves, coral reefs and turtle nesting grounds, subject to environmental clearance.
The environment ministry draft notification on Coastal Zone Management (CZM) to be finalised in the next six months has environmentalists up in arms. “This notification makes construction of a new greenfield airports like the one proposed at Navi Mumbai possible,” said Debi Goenka of the Conservation Action Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO.
What has surprised environmentalists is the way the environment ministry inserted allowing greenfield airports in the draft notification. In the notification issued on May 1, there was no mention of allowing greenfield airports. But, an amendment notification was issued on May 9 to include them in the development activities to be allowed on India’s coastline.
“The government wants to help private developers at the cost of environment,” Goenka alleged.
14/05/08 HT Media/MSN

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Categories: Airports May 2008