The Capital District Development Forum has urged the State government to hand over the Vizhinjam international seaport and container transshipment terminal project to the Union government.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, former Speaker and chairman of the forum M. Vijayakumar said since the Union government had shown interest in the project, it should be handed over to the Centre. Otherwise, the State government should shun the public-private partnership model and take up the project on its own under the landlord model, as planned earlier.
Mr. Vijayakumar charged the State government with deliberately trying to delay the project with the intent to help those working against the fulfilment of the project.
The government’s lukewarm approach to implementing the project helped the anti-port group to approach the National Green Tribunal.
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests approved the project on January 3 and as per rules, the aggrieved party could approach the tribunal within 33 days. But the opposing group approached the tribunal only after 88 days, and it was a clear violation of section 16 of the Green Tribunal Act, 2010. The government should have cited this violation in the court, and sought quashing of the tribunal proceedings, he said.
He criticised the State government for not finding suitable land in the district to establish the All India Institute of Medical Sciences sanctioned by the Union government.
