10-May-2008
CHENNAI: The airport expansion project, which involves extension of a runway across the Adyar river, has raised concern among environmentalists, who say the plan will increase the likelihood of flooding in surrounding areas.
As part of its 1069.99 acre, Rs.1,800-crore project, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will extend the 6,500-foot cross runway and build a taxi track across the Adyar river, by constructing a bund over the water. The AAI will also construct a second parallel runway on the river’s northern embankment.
“A runway across the river is dangerous as it will…lead to higher inflow into the river,” warns Ranjit Daniels, director of Care Earth. “Technology may help minimise the flooding of the runway per se, but there is no way the surroundings can be kept safe.”
The Adyar river is the largest outlet from the Chembarambakkam lake, which lies 7 km to the north-west of the proposed site. Dr. Daniels says the river drains rainwater from a much larger surrounding area, most of which was “already choked,” and such a project would affect drainage patterns and increase the likelihood of flooding.
AAI stand
The AAI rejects these concerns. It has already submitted a feasibility report and a rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for approval (although only for the first phase of its project, which involves the runway extension). A pre-Public Investment Board meeting for the project is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Monday, and sources within the AAI indicated that they expect to receive clearance from various Ministries to allow work to begin next month.
The AAI’s feasibility report states there will be “no changes in water bodies or the land surface that will affect drainage or run-off.”
Claims disputed
The Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), however, disputes these claims.
“The report fails to take into account what the current water availability in the area is, and for an EIA, this is not acceptable and is incomplete,” says Amritha Kasturi Rangan of CAG. “The mitigation measures are not clearly spelled out at all. For instance, the report says waste will be ‘suitably’ disposed of, but they haven’t identified any sites for disposable or how much waste will be generated.”
According to former pilot Capt. A. Ranganathan, flooding isn’t just a threat to surrounding areas, but also to the functioning of the airport. “In 2005, when the whole area flooded, the river level was up to the taxi track level,” he says. In that instance, the airport was temporarily closed and a section of the boundary wall had to be knocked down to allow water to drain.
A senior AAI official told The Hindu that flood levels had been accounted for in planning the extension of the runway, which would be raised high enough to prevent such an incident.
Approval from the Ministry of Environment and Forests also requires a public hearing to be held for residents in surrounding areas to voice their concerns. Kancheepuram Collector Santosh K. Misra told The Hindu that the administration will shortly announce when the hearing will be held.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/10/stories/2008051060371200.htm
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