Congress writes to NGT against ‘illegal’ shrimp ponds, seeks action
Seeking action by the Tribunal, Naik claimed that such ponds have affected the environment as well as livelihood of people.
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The letter further states, “Electricity and water theft takes place due to shrimp ponds activity. Because even today, the farmers have to face a dire situation due to lack of irrigation water, shrimp farmers are able to get as much water as they need, due to hand in glove with government officials.”
Senior Congress leader of Surat and advocate Darshan Naik Thursday sent a written complaint to National Green Tribunal (NGT) chairperson Prakash Shrivastava against “illegal” shrimp ponds on government land worth Rs 10,000 crore. Seeking action by the Tribunal, Naik claimed that such ponds have affected the environment as well as livelihood of people.
In the complaint letter Naik says, “Representations and complaints in relation to illegal shrimp ponds on government land were made at the highest level for the last 8-10 years. The issue of shrimp ponds has been raised from the Gram Panchayat to the Assembly, despite this, even today the business of shrimp ponds is going on in full swing, yet no action is being taken by the administration. This has affected the environment and livelihood of the entire area.”
The letter further adds, “According to the information sought under RTI from the District Land Registry Department regarding the measurement done, a total of 1343.9 hectares (1,34,39,000 sq.m.) of land in Olpad taluka of Surat district is covered with shrimp ponds. The total number of ponds operating illegally on government land in Majura taluka of Surat city is 5,641 and total area is 4,039 hectares, covering four hectares (1,34,39,000 sq m). This land falls under CRZ (Coastal Regulatory Zone) area, hence prior approval from Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority is required, but despite the fact that no approval has been obtained by the encroachers.”
The letter further states, “Electricity and water theft takes place due to shrimp ponds activity. Because even today, the farmers have to face a dire situation due to lack of irrigation water, shrimp farmers are able to get as much water as they need, due to hand in glove with government officials.”
Naik, in his letter, also brought allegations against the Olpad Choryasi Mamlatdar, Deputy Collector, Fisheries Department, DGVCL (Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited), Irrigation Department and others involved in shrimp business. The letter claimed that due to shrimp ponds, farmers and government treasury are suffering losses of lakhs and crores of rupees every year.
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