Rs 30,000-cr Seabird naval project cleared

BANGALORE, August 8: Work on the Rs 30,000 crore Seabird naval project, potentially slated to be the biggest naval base in the Asia, will begin in November, Chief Minister J H Patel said here on Saturday here.

“One good news of our Delhi trip is that the Union Defence Ministry and Karnataka has managed to clear the major stumbling block for this project which can change the socio-economic scenario of Karwar-Mangalore region,” he said while speaking to media persons on returning from Delhi. He said a Rs 80 crore rehabilitation plan had now been finalised during his meeting with the Defence Minister George Fernandes and the Navy officials in Delhi on August six. “And I can tell this much. This was possible only because of George Fernandes. I do not know whether we would have succeeded if anyone else was the Defence Minister”, he said.

The earlier package was Rs nine crore, later raised to Rs 27 crore to rehabilitate the people to be displaced under the project. Now the cost is raised to Rs 80 crores,which the Navy will be paying through the state government. The revised package also brings fishermen under its scope and promises to transform the entire socio-economic scene in the coastal belt. Though the foundation stone for the project was laid in October 1986, not much work happened, Patel said, adding that the evacuees had been offered a meagre compensation package. The state had released 5000 acres for the project. It may be recalled that last month’s talks the Defence Minster had with political parties in Karwar had failed evince any results.