Observing that national security and security of vital installations cannot be compromised under any circumstances, the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal cleared the construction of a marine police station at Kalpakkam.
Delivering the judgment on a petition filed against the setting up of the marine police station at Sadurangapattinam village, the bench, comprising Justice P. Jyothimani and expert member P.S. Rao, said the construction of the police station may help in strengthening security in the area.
The petitioner had argued that the site was an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site and also a Dutch fort were located just 100 metres from the shoreline.
The bench said that the appellant could not produce data supporting his claim that the site of construction over an area of half acre was clashing with the turtle nesting ground and will cause irretrievable damage to the coastal integrity.
The bench repeatedly observed that the site was already under active human use, where settlements have come up long back. Reports of the Forest Department did not mention anything about the ecological sensitivity and whether the activity of construction is going to affect the habitat and breeding of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, the bench said.
“Moreover there is no specific and authenticated report that this site is critical in affecting the pattern of migration of Olive Ridley sea turtles on the east coast and construction of police station is going to endager them”.
The bench also ruled that the Dutch Fort was 120 meters from the tidal line and “is beyond 100 metres as prescribed under Ancient Monuments and Archaelogical Sites and Remains Act, 2010”.
“The construction of the police station in no way is going to affect the archaeological monument and may help in stregnthenning the surveillance and security in the area, more so in the context of attacks by terrorists witnessed in the recent past elsewhere along the Indian coast,” the bench said.
