Tamil Nadu: Former Bureaucrats Oppose Adani-Kattupalli Port Expansion Project

The former bureaucrats had said that the government has the right to shelve the proposal mainly because of the financial risks that it would entail.

Chennai: Former IAS and IPS officers had registered their opposition against the expansion of Adani-Kattupalli port project. They had written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recently explaining the risks of the projects. 

The letter was signed by former IAS and IPS officers including SP Ambrose, MG Devasahayam, EAS Sarma, Madhu Bhaduri, Kamal Jaiswal, Meena Gupta, Gopalan Balagopal, Sundar Burra and Joy Oommen IAS.

According to a report in the News Minute, the former bureaucrats had said that the government has the right to shelve the proposal mainly because of the financial risks that it would entail. 

Pointing out that the expansion project has been witnessing opposition both from the locals and environmentalists, the report said that the port is to be expanded from 330 acres to 6,111 acres covering mangroves, wetlands and water bodies as per the Kattupalli port revised master plan. 

Quoting the letter, the report said that the former bureaucrats had called the expansion project as an attempt to milk the state exchequer and hints at the several risks that the state government should be aware of considering the company’s track records in other regions. 

Citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in connect with Vizhinjam port deal in 2017, the letter said that the CAG report had confirmed that the Adani group had earned more and caused loss to the exchequer by going against the state government’s interest, as per the report. 

If the company says that the project is viable only for a 99-year concession period then there is a real risk for the state government if it decides to continue with the project with the standard 30-year concession, the letter said and added that extending the concession period would cause massive revenue loss to the government, according to the report. 

The letter, according to the report, said that the proposed expansion of the port has been receiving opposition from local residents who were worried about the sea erosion, loss of livelihood and pollution and others.