Dhamra port may sue Greenpeace

Global environmental NGOu00a0 Greenpeace's fight against Tata's giant port at Dhamra in Orissa, which allegedly threatens the nesting grounds of the Olive Ridley turtles, may land it in legal trouble. The port's promoters Tata and L&T are mulling legal action against the global environmental watch for its "misinformation campaign" and using Tata Nano's launch for "cheap publicity".

On March 23, coinciding with the Nano's launch, Greenpeace released full page advertisements in the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune with a big picture of the "cheapest" car to bring the issue into the spotlight.

In an email to MiD DAY, the port promoters said, "The Nano ad campaign was in bad taste as it contained wrong information. When disinformation crosses certain limits, legal action cannot be ruled out."

Last year, over 1,00,000 Greenpeace cyber activists asked Tata to relocate the port. In response, Ratan Tata assured negotiations over the issue that eventually failed. After failure of the talks earlier this year, Greenpeace released the advertisement.

The negotiations involved the need to suspend construction pending an independent and comprehensive biological threat assessment of the Dhamra Port on adjoining areas, including Gahirmatha and Bhitarkanika. These protected areas harbour rare species such as the Olive Ridley turtle and saltwater crocodile.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace is leaving no stone unturned to force the Tata Group to stop work at the port. "We are planning to intensify the drive against the port. Dredging for the construction of the port is disturbing the habitat of the Olive Ridley turtles," said Greenpeace spokesperson Ankur 'Toby' Ganguly.

The organisation also alleges that the port authorities rejected their offer to stop dredging until an independent body completes an environment impact analysis. "If dredging and analysis go hand-in-hand, the results will be distorted," adds Ankur.

Calling the proposal "insane", the promoters said, "It's not feasible to stop construction, as there is no scientific proof of the claim. The National Environment Appellate Authority has upheld the clean chit given to us by the International Union of Conservation Naturalists, Switzerland."

Issue in a nutshell
According to Greenpeace, the ongoing construction of the Dhamra Port in Orissa, aboutu00a015 km from Gahirmatha one of the two mass nesting sites of the rare Olive Ridley turtle u00e2u0080u0094 is disturbing the habitat of the rare species. However, Tata claims there's little evidence to prove it.