Work on the prestigious shore-based ocean research laboratory of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) proposed here at a cost of Rs.20 crore has hit a roadblock as there is no access to the site allotted to it at Yendada.
Though the NIO, having waited long for clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which it got in December 2013, wanted to start construction immediately, the institute is unable to do anything. The reason: There is no access to the two plots allotted to it admeasuring 3.25 acres in Survey No. 177 (old Survey No. 105) as encroachments have come up in the area.
NIO, which is engaging BSNL as its consultant, has plans to set up shore-based ocean research laboratory with fresh seawater intake facility for undertaking various trials.
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The project will help study biochemistry of Bay of Bengal and nearby rivers, geophysics of eastern continental margins, coastal pollution, climate change, obtain data and analyse for exploring oil, gas and hydrates particularly in Krishna-Godavari basin.
“We have funds at our disposal for a long time but due to such avoidable delays, the project is getting adversely affected,” NIO-Goa Director S.W.A. Naqvi told The Hindu on Monday.
Controversy over Coastal Regulation Zone had delayed the MoEF clearance. After submission of various documents and assessment by independent agencies to support its claim, MoEF on the recommendation of Expert Appraisal Committee gave its approval in December, 2013.
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NIO scientists have already approached the district administration as well as Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu for their intervention to clear the bottlenecks. NIO has its presence in the city since 1976 but it is deprived of its own premises.
The proposed campus will have facilities for 24x7 monitoring of marine biological activity with reference to coastal pollution and climate change, studies on atmosphere-coastal ocean interaction to understand influence of urban dust on coastal environment.
It will have state-of-the-art facilities for testing and calibration of marine instruments and a marine aquarium to conserve ecologically sensitive and rare species from inter-tidal and sub-tidal zones.