State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority in Gujarat clears Vishwamitri dredging and desilting, recommends following NGT order

Vishwamitri is a known breeding site for the mugger crocodiles.

As per the minutes of the meeting of the Authority held on January 6, the SEIAA suggested following the recommendations of the State-level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC).

“The work requires removing debris and silt from the river… to be completed before August 2025. By this activity the carrying capacity of the river will increase up to 1,100 cumecs, significantly reducing flood reduction by 51%,” the SEIAA stated.

The Authority has mandated that the work be carried out in compliance with the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) of May 2021 that had directed the demarcation of the floodplain zone and removal of all unauthorised structures from the river’s vicinity.
Environment activist Rohit Prajapati of Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti had filed a petition in NGT based on which directions had been issued on implementation of the ‘Vishwamitri River Action Plan’, including action points as per the river restoration plan.

In its order, the NGT had observed that the River consists of catchments, floodplains, tributaries, ponds, river-bed and adjoining ravines which, along with the soils and vegetation on both sides, are the river’s natural mechanism to retain the additional water, prevent floods and provide habitat for various species. “It is a natural, living organic part of a larger ecological system. The Vishwamitri River Action Plan should include demarcating, protecting, and restoring the river, and maintaining minimum environment flow in a time-bound manner,” the green tribunal observed.

Stating that the entire operation should be carried out in the presence of local forest department officials and staff and under technical guidance, the SEAC said that the VMC must ensure that “wild animals are not injured”.

The SEAC has also stated that, if the need arises, the crocodiles and Indian softshell turtles should be safely rescued and released in the Vishwamitri River in coordination with the forest department. The Committee has also opined that “suitable places will be kept on the river banks for such species so that such species can lay and incubate their eggs….” The VMC has been asked to take measures suggested by the forest department, to prevent conflict between and injuries to crocodiles and humans.

In the deliberations, the SEIAA chaired by former IAS officer H K Dash, who was principal secretary, environment and forests in the state government, said, “Municipal Corporation, Vadodara, shall prepare a plan for involving quantity of desilting, depth and its disposal and follow the sediment management issued by Ministry of Jal Shakti Department of Water Resources, River and Development Memorandum, along with a review by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and Gujarat department of forest.”

The SEAC inspected the vehicles and machineries that will be used to conduct the desilting and dredging activity to ensure that the machineries conform “to stipulated emission norms as per the CPCB standards” and are “well maintained to avoid noise pollution”. The Committee has also mentioned that water should be sprinkled at the site of vehicle movement to “mitigate the dust generated”.

The SEAC has also stated that “excavated material generated from the re-sectioning, desilting and debris removal activities will be collected appropriately on either side of the river where non-productive government land is available and the same will be utilised for government purpose in ongoing government projects.”

When contacted, Prajapati told this newspaper that the environmental activists, who had dragged the VMC to the NGT in 2015, were “opposed to straightening of the river and disturbance of meanders.” Prajapati said, “The focus of the VMC should not be to remove the water from the city but to keep the water in its own area to stop the infiltration process. It is not to straighten the river but to free up the natural course of the river. The important question is about the implementation of the NGT order which requires removal of unauthorised construction. We are glad that the SEIAA has emphasised on the NGT order, which, for the first time, defined what a river means and includes the ravines and wetlands…”

Urban Planner Neha Sarwate said that returning the land of the river course is the only way to mitigate floods. Sarwate said, “You have to remove debris – from tributaries and wetlands as well to return the land of the river. Each river has its natural floodplain, which is occupied as per rainy season or floods… It does not mean it is not part of the river in seasons other than monsoon. Reconnecting the ponds and kaans and also repair and restoration of upstream and downstream of Vadodara is needed. The civic body also needs to ensure that untreated sewage is not dumped in Vishwamitri.”

While VMC Commissioner Dilip Rana was unavailable for comment, officials of the VMC said that once the Environmental Clearance is received from SEIAA officially, the civic body will inaugurate the phase-I of the project, attempting to mitigate flood risk in the upcoming monsoon.