Destruction of Erra Matti Dibbalu (EMD), a unique geo-heritage feature of Visakhapatnam without Approvals under E R Act, CRZ and other relevant laws- Request for treating it as an environmental crime, recover cost of environment damage and impose a deterrent penalty
To
Ms Leena Nandan
SecretaryMinistry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC)
Govt of India
Dear Ms Nandan,
I have enclosed below a detailed letter dated 17th July, 2024 addressed by me to the Chief Secretary, Govt of AP on the destruction of Erra Matti Dibbalu (EMD), a unique geo-heritage feature of Visakhapatnam. My letter is self-explanatory.Erra Matti Dibbalu (EMD) is a GSI-notified “Geo-Heritage Park”, a rare natural feature that the people of Visakhapatnam are proud of. I have attached here a copy of the GSI notification on EMD.
The local administration, some years ago, allotted a part of a huge stretch of government land, without identifying boundaries, in favour of Bheemunipatnam Mutually Aided Co-operative Building Society (BCBS) (BMACBS) for a housing colony, without caring to protect the geo-heritage characteristics of the feature. The local municipal corporation (GVMC) recently issued approval for a housing lay-out subject to a number of pre-conditions to be fulfilled by BMACBS before starting any construction work. Those conditions included, among several other requirements, the requirement of prior Environment Impact Appraisal and Environment Clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) and CRZ clearance as parts of the lay-out are located within the fragile portion of CRZ-I.
Recently, BMACBS took law in its hands without fulfilling the prescribed conditions, including obtaining a statutory Environment Clearance (EC) and without prior approval under CRZ notification and destroyed 50-60% of the EMD, evidently through connivance with some local officials.
As indicated in my enclosed letter, the EMD consisted of an elaborate naturally formed rain water drainage system, red sand dunes of environmentally fragile nature, and a fairly significant cover of vegetation. As a result of the wanton, irresponsible destruction, all those natural resources have been lost forever. The EMD supports rich bio-resources and the associated bio-diversity that has also been damaged in an irreversible manner. The sand dunes formed by nature over millions of years have been mercilessly flattened. In short, it is a serious environmental crime of a mind-boggling proportion.
As evident from a notice issued by GVMC to BMACBS (copy enclosed), the society failed to submit its proposal for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and environmental clearance under the EPA and did not also care to obtain clearance under the CRZ notification. This shows how brazen the environmental crime committed by the society is.
Such offences cannot and should not be condoned under any circumstance.
I therefore request MEFCC to
- Depute an expert team to assess the environmental damage caused. Environmental damage should include direct damage to the EMD which is a natural rain water drainage system, loss of tree cover, loss of biodiversity, loss of nature-deposited sand dunes and damage to the CRZ-I portion and its impact on loss of bio-resources.
- The team may comprise of a representative of Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), the GSI, the local Conservator of Forests and the local chapter of INTACH represented by its convener, Prof Rajasekhar Reddy who, in his own right, is an eminent geologist familiar with the heritage value of the feature.
- MFCC may recover the full cost of the environmental damage from BMACBS and may also impose a deterrent penalty on the society for their brazen conduct.
- MEFCC may, in consultation with INTACH, GSI and the District Collector of Visakhapatnam put in place a comprehensive set of measures to protect the residual portion of EMD for the present and future generations.
I request MEFCC to act firmly and urgently in this matter as otherwise the public here are not sure as to the security of the residual portion of EMD.
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
12th August 2024
My letter of 17-7-2024 addressed to the Chief Secretyary to the Govt of AP on “Destruction of Erra Matti Dibbalu (EMD), a unique geo-heritage feature of visakhapatnam”
E A S Sarma
Visakhapatnam
to
Shri Neerabh Kumar Prasad
Chief Secretary
Govt of AP
Dear Shri Prasad,
I write this letter in anguish to bring to your attention the wholesale destruction activity that is going on at present at Erra Matti Dibbalu (EMD), a GSI-notified “Geo-Heritage Park”, a rare natural feature that the people of Visakhapatnam are proud of. I have requested the District Collector to order stoppage of the excavation work, pending a detailed survey and examining the possible alternatives available to save the feature for the posterity.
Erra Matti Dibbalu (EMD) is a unique geo-heritage site on Visakha-Bheemili road in Visakhapatnam district. It is a natural feature of importance from the point of view of its unique geology, its having evidence of a prehistoric human settlement and its environmental value. It is a heritage that belongs to the people, which is expected to be conserved in its pristine condition by the government as a “public trustee’ in terms of Article 49 of the Constitution but allowed to be deliberately and callously destroyed as a result of collusion among public functionaries and real estate developers during the last several decades.
I have attached here extracts of the series of letters I have written to the government from time to time, that evoked neither any response nor tangible action to stop the vandalism going on there (https://countercurrents.org/2023/08/erramatti-dibbalu-a-unique-geo-heritage-site-near-visakhapatnam-being-subject-to-spoliation-through-official-connivance/)
I have reproduced here an extract from one of my letters that summed up the implications of destroying the EMD:
“Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) & CRZ:
Whatever be the court judgements and government orders, no construction activity can be allowed without a due process of environment impact assessment and prior statutory environment clearance, as required under the EPA and CRZ. Some parts of the EMD area fall within the CRZ area but no clearance seems to have been obtained by BMACBS for taking up construction work. If it is so, I suggest that the construction activity is stopped forthwith and the Society asked to get the project duly appraised.
The EMD is a part of a system of water courses and drains and the core area of the EMD itself is the bed of a stream. The Supreme Court, in the Tirupati Intellectuals Forum case directed the authorities not to permit any construction within the bed of a water body (copy of the SC judgement enclosed). Clearly, the construction work going on is prima facie illegal.
Ecologically sensitive Porampoke lands not to be alienated:
Portion of the END attracts the prohibitive directions of the apex court of India in the Jagpal Singh case. I have enclosed a copy of the relevant judgement. Violation of AP WALTA Act: The developers have indiscriminately hacked a number of trees without permission of the concerned authorities under WALTA Act. A spot inspection, if conducted immediately, will reveal the havoc.
D-Patta lands:
There are several stretches of lands in and around the EMD covered by D-Pattas. In respect of those lands, the original D-Patta holders alone can cultivate them. If they have alienated those lands to others, such a sale becomes illegal under AP Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977 and in such cases, the lands get restored to the govt. Any construction undertaken on such lands is clearly illegal, apart from the same also violating the AP Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2006 . The ongoing activity would thus be doubly illegal and needs to be proceed against
Illegal sand mining:
Some contractors are seem to be carrying on illegal sand quarrying, for which they could not have secured the necessary clearances. Sand mining in the EMD is highly objectionable and it needs to be stopped forthwith. Those engaged in illegal sand mining should be brought to book.
Geo-heritage notification issued by the GSI:
The EMD has been notified by the GSI as a geo-heritage area and it needs to be scrupulously protected. It is one among the few such sites in India and it is unfortunate that the authorities who are expected to protect it have not been able to fulfil their obligation. The EMD is also known to be a pre-historic site with some archeological evidence discovered by the scholars”
I further indicate an illustrative list of research papers on EMD below:
1. “Red Dunes and Quaternary Palaeoenvironment in India and Sri Lanka” by Rita A.M. Gardner, Dept. of Geography, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London Memoirs Geological Society of India No. 32 pp 391-404
2. “A Middle Paaeolithic Assemblage from Ramayogi Agraharam in the Red Sediments on the Visakhapatnam Coast” by Alok Rath, K. Thimma Reddy and P. Vijaya Prakash, Dept. of Anthropology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam
3. “Textural Analysis of Red Sediments from Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh” by C. V. Raman and A.T. Rao, Geological Society of India, Bangalore (1980)
4. “Geomorphologic processes in the formation of (red) sands at Bhimilipatnam, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh” by K.N. Prudhvi Raju and others, Journal of Geological Society of India Vol 26 May 1985 pp 336-344
5. “Calcretes in the red sediments of Visakhapatnam” by P.N. Rao and others in Indian Journal of Landscape Systems and Ecological Studies, Calcutta Vol 16 no.1
6. “A smectite-rich layer from the coastal sediments of Visakhapatnam Bhimunipatnam region, Andhra Pradesh” by A.T. Rao and others in Journal of Indian Association of Sedimentologists Vol II (1992) pp 71-77
7. “Morphostratigraphy and evolution of the quaternary ‘red sands’ near Bhimunipatnam, East Coast of India” by K. Nageswara Rao and others in Journal of Geological Society of India Vol 68, Nov. 2006 pp 857-873
8. “Coastal sediments along Visakhapatnam-Bhimunipatnam region, Andhra Pradesh” by A.T. Rao and others in Journal of Indian Association of Sedimentologists, Vol 12 (1993) pp 1-9 9. “Origin of calcrete in red sediment from Visakhapatnam coast, Andhra Pradesh” by P. Sankara Pitchaiah in Journal of Geological Society of India Vol 29 April 1987 pp 459-464
10. “Estimation of sediment volume through geophysical and GIS analysis- A case study of the red sand deposit along Visakhapatnam coast” by K. Nageswara Rao and others in Journal of Indian Geophysical Union Jan 2008 Vol 12 No.1 pp 23-30
11. “Late quaternary climatic changes in India: A geoarchaeological approach” by S.N. Rajaguru and S. Mishra of Deccan College, Pune in Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin 16, 1997 (Chiang Mai Papers, Vol 3)
The geological significance of EMD has been described comprehensively by Prof D Rajasekhar Reddy and others in a paper published recently (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372221365_POTENTIAL_GEOPARKS_OF_INDIA_VISAKHAPATNAM_A_POTENTIAL_GEOPARK_OF_INDIA)In the past, portions of the EMD were taken possession of by Indian Navy, when the public were not fully aware of its rare geological/ heritage value. Since Navy’s INS Kalinga is now situated at EMD, the surrounding portions of EMD assume strategic importance.
Some portion of the EMD seemed to have been allotted to a housing society. Since such allotment was made out of a large porampoke number, it is not clear as to the exact location of the land given to that society. Had the authorities cared for the obvious environmental and geological value of the EMD as seen physically and reflected in the revenue records, they would have avoided permitting excavations and construction work there. Apparently, there was a long pending court case over that land, resulting in the apex court giving an order permitting the housing society to retain its possession over that land. Had the government apprised the apex court of the special geological significance of the land, perhaps the court would have ordered its conservation.
On a letter written by Dr Kutikuppala Surya Rao, a well-known doctor in Vizag addressed to the Chief Justice of AP High Court citing the heritage value of the EMD, the High Court suo moto treated it as a PIL in which the government, the then VUDA and others were impleaded as respondents. To the best of knowledge, the PIL is yet to be finally heard and adjudicated. Evidently, the authorities adopted a nonchalant, indifferent attitude in that case towards the State’s obligation to protect heritage under Article 49 of the Constitution.
I wish to point out that there are certain aspects of EMD on which an officially commissioned, independent survey alone can clarify the issues at this stage. Let me list out the same for the government to proceed systematically.
- Irrespective of the individual rights over the land and court orders, one should recognise that the EMD is is nature-bestowed feature, unique to the Visakha-Bheemli coastal stretch, that needs to be preserved at any cost.
- An independent survey needs to be ordered immediately to demarcate the border of the natural feature in its totality, so that the government may know what to preserve.
- GSI has notified only a portion of the EMD, which did not capture its full extent. GSI should be requested to re-notify the site covering its entire extent. Meanwhile, the portion notified by GSI as of now needs to be surveyed accurately to understand the additional extent to be added in the re-notification
- With the help of the NIO, the APCZMA should be asked to indicate the portion of the EMD that falls within CRZ-I and CRZ-III so that the relevant CRZ norms could be enforced there.
- It is not clear whether the project of the housing society has been cleared by the MOEF under the provisions of trhe Environment (Protection) Act and the CRZ Notification, where applicable. If not, it is prima facie irregular for anyone to undertake construction activity there
- In case portions of the land allotted to the housing society are located in the EMD/ CRZ areas, the government should explore the ways and means of allotting them alternate lands, to be able tp protect the EMD fully
- The government, keeping in view what it would mean by allowing any portion of the EMD to be destroyed, approach the apex court for revising its earlier order to uphold the spirit of Articles 48A and 49 of the Constitution
- in the past, the government issued some GOs indicating the extent of the EMD erroneously, without grasping the geological importance of the feature. All such GOs need to be revoked.
While the government was busy colluding with real estate developers to allow the destruction of the EMD, it is the citizens of Vizag who collectively stood up against it. On behalf of the citizens and INTACH, two national seminars were conducted in the past, which brought together researchers and the civil society together to appeal to the GSI to notify the site.
In 2009, some of us stood at the bed of the EMD near its confluence with the Bay of Bengal, in protest agasinst a contractor, who, working on behalf of the AP Tourism Department, tried to excavate a deep trench there using heavy machinery. We had to remind a senior of the AP Tourism Department, who met us there, that the portion where the trench was being excavated was within the CRZ-III portion of the coastal stretch. It speaks volumes of the callousness of the State government towards protecting heritage sites.
Section 20D98) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 referred to INTACH as a notified Trust to be consulted by the government in notifying heritsge conservation regulations as follows:
“The competent authority, in consultation with Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage, being a trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (2 of 1882) or such other expert heritage bodies as may be notified by the Central Government, shall prepare heritage bye-laws in respect of each protected monument and protected area”
I hope that the State government will keep INTACH and the people of Vizag fully apprised of how it will proceed in the case of the EMD and for its preservation.
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Visakhapatnam
17th July 2024
