Gujarat green brigade sees red as statue work kicks off

ahmedabad — A group of activists has thrown a spanner in Narendra Modi’s works by protesting against the Gujarat chief minister’s pet project, the world’s tallest statue, which, they say, was kicked off recently without carrying out any environment impact assessment (EIA) study and obtaining a mandatory environment clearance (EC) certificate.

Vadodara-based environmentalist Rohit Prajapati and 16 other tree-huggers have dashed off letters to the federal Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) and the state-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority urging them to stop the project in its tracks.

Sources said the MoEF might send an inquiry team to Gujarat or issue a notice to the Modi government.

The green activist, who has often com- plained of harassment by the Modi regime, told that the work on building the 182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on an island in the Narmada river had started, tenders had also been floated and even the foundation stone for the same was recently laid without carrying out EIA study and obtaining an EC certificate.

“This is clearly in violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and the Environment Impact Assessment notification of 2006 and a number of orders of the National Green Tribunal and courts about such massive construction on a riverbed,” he pointed out.

According to the green brigade, the environmental clearances were crucial as the project that involves construction on the riverbed and proposed reservoir — close to a sanctuary in eco-sensitive zone — will have serious impact on the ecology and environment.

Though critics say the Rs25-billion project is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party strongman’s plan to galvanise saffronites across India in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year, Modi has appealed to farmers in 750,000 villages to donate iron pieces to build the ‘Statue of Unity’ for India’s Iron Man.

The gigantic acrolith will surpass the record of China’s 153-metre Spring Temple Buddha, and will be almost double the height of New York city’s famed ‘Statue of Liberty’ and about five times the height of the statue of ‘Christ The Redeemer’ in Rio de Janeiro.

Indeed, it will also be 10 metres taller than the earth’s highest, 172-metre statue of Crazy Horse Memorial being carved out in Mount Rushmore, South Dakota in north-central US.

The Gujarat police had put Prajapati and other green activists under house arrest to foil a demonstration by tribals living in 70 villages near the statue site at the stone-laying ceremony where BJP leader L.K. Advani was the chief guest.