UNION environment minister KamalNath's order of July 30 -which hasyet to reach the Orissa government-to stop work on the ChilikaAquatic Farms project till an independent consultant assessed its likely environmental impact may have,at best, bought some time for him.Orissa chief minister Biju Patnaikand those opposed to the project,meanwhile, are bracing themselvesfor a renewal of their fight overprawn fishing and lake degradation.Nath is under pressure from theOrissa chief minister to allow workto continue on the state government'sjoint venture with the House ofTata Steel for a 600-ha prawn culture farm. Sources here say Patnaikhas approached Prime Minister P VNarasimha Rao to get Nath to clearthe project quickly. On the otherhand, several Orissa Congress MPs,including K P Singhdeo aJSriballabh Panigrahi, are pressurling Nath not to yield on the projelwhich seems to have become a prEtige issue for Patnaik.
It was reportedly under pressufrom both these camps that Nalheld a meeting on July 30 and askfor work on the project to pending environmental clearance.The environmental impact assesment (EIA) being prepared by tbpublic sector Water and POWEConsultancy Services (W APCOS)was found unacceptable, as W AICOS did not have the necessarexpertise to clear such a projectsays Banka Behary Das, one of themost vocal Opponents of the projetand a former Orissa minister, whowas present at the meeting.
While opponents of the projectled by Das, expressed satisfaction aNath's decision, the chief ministerhas already announced that hewould not willingly submit so easilyto the authority of the Central ministry. He is reported to have toldNath on July 31, "Fish does not create environmental hazards. Thosewho do not know anything aboutenvironment are shouting unnecessarily. You should not listen tothem."
Meanwhile, opponents of theproject fear the combined clout ofBiju Patnaik and the Tata groupcould eventually ensure clearancefor the project and probably eveninfluence the independent consultant's report. "Once the consultant'sreport says the project would notpollute the lake, it will be difficulteven for Kamal Nath to stop clearance," Das commented. No wonder,then, he has called on the OrissaKrushak Mahasangh, which heheads, to prepare for a legal battleas well.
Patnaik and project officials areonce again alleging opposition to theproject is politically motivated. ATata executive speaking on conditions of anonymity argued, "If. thereis such intense mass resentmentagainst the project, why did onlyabout a dozen people turn up for thedemonstration before the environment ministry? And, why is formerchief minister J B Patnaik, who firstcalled us in, now opposing the pro-ject?"
Ironically, however, work on theproject came to a halt in mid-July -not by Union fiat or by orders fromthe local authorities, but becausethe onset of the rainy seasonprevents movement of heavyvehicles.