NEW DELHI: The meeting to be held on Monday between Union Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram will give the final touches to the much-awaited Vizhinjam port project.Jairam Ramesh, who is leaving for Kerala on Sunday, will hold a day-longdiscussion with the CM and other ministers in Thiruvananthapuram.Jairam Ramesh told Express that he was going to Kerala to give a final shape to the multi-crore Vizhinjam International Seaport and Container Transshipment Terminal project. But he ruled out any formal announcement regarding the port. “Patience patience...,” he said when asked about the possibility of a formal announcement on Monday.However, sources with the Environment Ministry said that the Vizhinjam port had crossed all the major hurdles with the Ministry extending its nod for the Terms of Reference (ToR) with respect to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). The delay in getting the ToR approved was one of the major hurdles in completing the initial works for the project.“Things started moving faster after the new government has taken over. It has been putting extra pressure on the Ministry to settle the technicalities at the earliest,” said an official with the ministry. According to him, Oommen Chandy had been in constant touch with the minister after the two had met in New Delhi on May 20 to discuss the issue.Besides, Ports Secretary Manoj Joshi had also met the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEF regarding the clearance. The committee had earlier rejected the ToR application from the state twice on various grounds including environmental degradation and adverse impact of fisheries.“The new government had been able to give convincing replies to all the concerns raised by the Ministry,” the official said.The Vizhinjam Port had acquired political dimensions with the former LDF Government accusing the Central Government of playing politics by delaying it citing baseless reasons.
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