The Mangrove theme park closed

The Mangrove theme park of Pappinisseri Eco-Tourism Society closed following the central order.The theme park on the banks of Valapattanam river was served a copy of the order of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.As soon as getting the order the gates of the park closed down.The park was opened on April 12, 2010.

The theme park was under criticism since its opening. The opposition was mainly from United Democratic Front on political bias.Also environmentalists strongly opposed the movement.But the ruling Communist (Marxist) lead society went ahead taking it as a prestige issue. The main accuse was that the theme park was established in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.Due to this it was a burning issue in state legislative assembly.

But the CPI(M) district secretary told that the park was an initiative to conserve mangroves by planting saplings.But the developments carried out there was really destroying the existing mangroves. So the works are to be stopped which had happened now.

Four Industry proposals rejected

Here is a glad news for all the environmental activists of India. The standing committee of National Board for Wildlife, headed by Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayram Ramesh had rejected four Industry proposals and postponed another two.

The rejection include the proposal to build a port at Poshitra in Jamnagar of Gujarat. The site was within the Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park , an ecologically fragile region rich with marine biodiversity.

Another rejection was the proposal of laying pipe to draw water from Majthal Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh. The proposal was by Ambuja Cement to expand their cement plant. Drawing water for commercial purpose is violation of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and hence can’t be allowed – the committee noted.

The third rejection was two mining projects in Goa. The proposed projects were near wildlife sanctuaries. The committee noted the Supreme Court direction that no polluting activity should be carried out within 10 kilometers of the boundaries of protected areas.

The fourth rejection was the proposal to carry out a two dimensional seismic survey within the Narayan Sagar Sanctuary in Gujarat.

The postponed projects are one in Andhra Pradesh and the other in Rajasthan. The Andhra Pradesh based proposal was the reduction of Kolleru Lake Sanctuary area while Rajasthan based proposal was the divertion of forest land from National Chambal River Sanctuary for lift irrigation and hydropower projects. Both postponed noting that further detailed studies are required before taking a decision.

According to Jayram Ramesh the rejection were according to the need to protect the environment.