The Hindu : National : Colombo's eco concerns to be factored into Sethu project

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Saturday, Jun 04, 2005

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Colombo's eco concerns to be factored into Sethu project

Siddharth Varadarajan

Signing of defence pact `possible' only after Tamil Nadu polls; Sri Lanka to study Indian request to co-sponsor G-4 resolution in U.N.

All dredging work will take place entirely within Indian territorial waters but Sri Lanka is concerned about the impact this might have on its own coast and territorial waters

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to allay Colombo's fears about the proposed Sethusamudram ship canal project, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is understood to have given his "personal commitment" that India will modify the design and other parameters of the controversial project if Sri Lanka's environmental concerns warrant it.

Though the joint statement issued on Friday only commits India to continuing the exchange of views between Indian and Sri Lankan technical experts on "environmental concerns and prospects of closer economic cooperation between the two countries in the Palk Bay area," senior officials told The Hindu that Dr. Singh assured Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga that her country's worries would be accommodated.

The project, which received Cabinet clearance last month, will create a 20-km long, 300-metre wide channel between India and Sri Lanka. Once completed, experts estimate it will knock 36 hours off the time ships take to travel between the east and west coasts of India. The Rs. 2,427 crores project requires major dredging operations in and around Palk Bay, the Palk Straits and Adam's Bridge.

All the dredging work will take place entirely within Indian territorial waters but Sri Lanka is concerned about the impact this — and the estimated annual traffic of 3,000 ships — might have on its own coast and territorial waters, including fish stocks.

Sri Lankan officials say Dr. Singh was "very generous" in his response to these issues and gave a personal commitment to Ms. Kumaratunga that if environmental concerns required it, the project would be redesigned.

Indian officials told The Hindu that India too was interested in analysing the full environmental implications of the Sethusamudram project as any negative impact was likely to affect both countries adversely.

Among the other issues that came up during Ms. Kumaratunga's meeting with Dr. Singh on Thursday was the G-4 draft resolution on the expansion of the United Nations Security Council. Noting Colombo's support for a permanent Indian seat in the UNSC, Dr. Singh asked Sri Lanka to co-sponsor the G-4 resolution in the General Assembly later this month. According to senior officials, the Sri Lankan President said her Government was studying the draft and would consider India's request.

Though the Sri Lankan side is keen to sign the proposed defence agreement with India, Colombo is now reconciled to the "political reality" that this will not be possible until the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections are held next year. However, officials on both sides say the substance of the proposed agreement — an expanded defence relationship — is already being implemented.

Ms. Kumaratunga was also keen to stress in her meeting with Dr. Singh that involving the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the proposed `joint mechanism' for post-tsunami operations did not mean her Government was letting down its guard in any way. In Friday's joint statement, both sides — without explicitly naming the LTTE — expressed concern over the ceasefire violations and "the illegal acquisition of air capability."

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was present during Dr. Singh's meeting with Ms. Kumaratunga and concurred with the need to proceed with the `joint mechanism'. Indian officials say New Delhi is willing to support any initiative that furthers the peace process.

The joint statement also noted the fact that bilateral trade had reached $1.8 billion in 2004 and that the trade balance between the two countries had narrowed significantly. The two leaders took stock of the ongoing negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and directed that these negotiations "be concluded by the end of 2005" so as to give an impetus to business and investment activity.

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