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A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and consisting of Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli asked the State of Karnataka not to proceed with the expansion work of Commercial Karwar Port.

The above transpired in a plea filed by Fishermen Association in Baithkol Village, Karwar challenging the order of Division Bench of Karnataka High Court dismissing the plea by them seeking for an injunction against the State and the related authorities against continuing the expansion of the Second Stage Development of Commercial Karwar Port, at Baithkol Village and Rabindranath Tagore Beach at Karwar Bay, Karwar Taluka, Uttara Kannada District. The High Court dismissed the writ petition on the ground that the that the Vice President of the Fishermen Association who signed the affidavit owned a land that was acquired for setting up of the original Karwar Port.

The High Court held that “Therefore, as a person who had affirmed verifying affidavit in this writ petition, it was his duty to bring the fact of filing of the earlier proceedings to the notice of this Court. Hence, the preliminary objection will have to be upheld.” The petitioners have approached the Supreme Court on the ground that 2nd Stage Expansion of the Commercial Karwar Port is not accordance with the laws relating to the environment. The plea further states that the approvals were not in line with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification dated 2006 which mandates that any project being undertaken in Eco Sensitive Area (ESA) shall require prior environmental clearance from the Central Government in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) to be constituted by the Central Government for the purposes of this notification.

The plea further states that the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change [erstwhile Minister of Environment and Forests] issued a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification which categorically stated that Karwar was within the meaning of Critical Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA). However the State decided to go ahead with the project. The petitioner association is also contesting the grant of Environmental Clearance (EC) granted by State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority-Karnataka (SEIAA) on the ground that expansion would have a severe impact on the Karwar beach and also the connected drainage system, as well as have an adverse impact on the fishing activity.

When the matter was called for hearing today, Devadatt Kamat, Sr. Adv, assisted by Amit Pai, AoR, submitted that the clearance obtained for the project are bad in law and that all the projects and activities in the area require the prior Environmental Clearance from the Central Government in the Ministry of Environmental and Forests (MoEF).

Maninder Singh, Sr. Adv, appearing for Karnataka, submitted that the instant order was passed by the division bench of Karnataka High Court in July, 2021 and the petitioners are seeking a grant of stay in the project in March, 2022.

The court on hearing the submissions of the parties issued notice in the matter and orally asked Singh to inform Karnataka not to go ahead with the project.

Case title: BAITHKOL BANDHARU NIRASHRITHARA YANTRIKRUT DHONI MEENUGARARA SAHAKARA SANGHA NIYAMITHA Vs CEO, Karnataka Maritime Board.