Vizhinjam fiasco puts Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Latin Catholic Church on collision course

Protestors occupy the Vizhinjam port construction site on Tuesday. (South First)

Stating in unequivocal terms that he would not relent to the strikes and pressure tactics from certain quarters, Vijayan said the scuttling of the project at this phase would be severe injustice to future generations.

“No one can forget the fact that we have contributed so much to reach this stage,” said Vijayan in a clear message to the church leadership that ended its recent bonhomie with the government and stood solidly behind the striking fishing community, which cites the port’s alleged role in large-scale sea erosion causing a severe environmental and livelihood crisis.

In the Assembly election last year, the LDF wrested many coastal constituencies in the state from the Opposition UDF by inching closer to the church leadership.​

Kerala’s Minister for Ports Ahammad Devarkovil, who also intervened in the discussion on the adjournment motion, said the state government would have to pay a massive penalty to the Adani Group if construction was stopped all of a sudden.

He also revealed that disputes related to the delay in the completion of the project are now pending before an arbitration tribunal headed by Supreme Court judges.

After Vijayan and Devarkovil clarified their stands, church representatives Fr Eugine Pereira and Fr Thiyodesius D’Cruz preferred harsh voices against the chief minister and the LDF leadership in their interactions with the media at the protest venue.

Quoting from an earlier controversial statement, when Vijayan had called his opponents “wretched creatures”, the church leaders said his stand over Vizhinjam proved that he was the same thing.

Latin Catholic Church leaders at a recent meeting with a Cabinet subcommittee on Vizhinjam. (South First)

“Now the state Cabinet is headed by a wretched creature who is unrealistic and parroting a vicious corporate agenda. Vijayan has a track record of saying get out to all those who find objections with his programmes and policies. But the fishing community will react strongly if he shouts to get out to them,” D’Cruz told reporters.

“The ministers in Kerala are challenging the patience of the agitating fish workers on the eighth day of protests. The port minister is a fool. He talks only nonsense and makes false claims to please Adani. If they had received any bribe from Adani, it’s time to return the amount,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pereira said the church would not return from its commitment to the agitation under any circumstance, and would try to ensure the large-scale involvement of people from other religions and communities.

“It is not a communal agitation, as the vested elements are trying to portray it. We are waging war for livelihood and environmental protection. It is for the entire Kerala. The chief minister must accept the reality,” he said.

​In his Assembly speech, Vijayan rejected the demand of the agitators that an expert panel be constituted to study the social and geological impact of the construction on the coast.

He asserted that the Vizhinjam port construction was not responsible for the erosion along the state’s southern coast. He attributed the erosion solely to climate change, especially the frequent cyclones and depressions that had buffeted the coast since 2016.

“It cannot be said with any certainty that the erosion witnessed in areas like Valiyathura and Shanghumughom resulted from the port’s construction. It has to be noted that there was no erosion in the 5-km stretch close to the project site,” he said.

Vijayan also said that the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal had rejected all petitions that accused the project of causing severe coastal degradation.

Fr Eugine Pereira briefs Port Minister Ahmed Devarkovil and Transport Minister Antony Raju on the Vizhinjam situation in a recent meeting. (South First)

​In his speech, Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan strongly countered the chief minister’s argument that the erosion was not the result of port construction.

“When just one-third of the work was completed, more than 600 metres of the coast was lost. In Valiyathura alone, five lines of fishermen’s houses were lost to erosion in the last five years,” he said.

Satheeeshan said the previous UDF government under Oommen Chandy had anticipated such erosion. “Then, it was found that over 3,000 of the 7,890 houses between Panathura and Valiyathura would be affected by the project. Based on this assessment, the UDF government announced a ₹​471-crore rehabilitation package in addition to the standard compensation package. Of this, ₹300 crore was for land acquisition alone,” Satheesan said.

“Not a single rupee from this package has been utilised,” he claimed.

V D Satheesan, the opposition leader. (South First)

Satheesan also said that the government should not undermine the fisherfolk’s strike. “Had it not been for the agitation, you would have thought of shifting families dumped in cramped godowns to rented houses. After the fishers rose in protest, it is only now that you even thought of acquiring land for the purpose,” Satheesan said.

​Meanwhile, Thiruvanathapuram MP and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor expressed his disappointment over the chief minister’s stand on coastal erosion.

In a four-part tweet, he said that the displacement of people who lost their houses due to sea inundation “is a fact”.

He attributed the “unfortunate situation” to the state government’s failure to implement the rehabilitation and coastal conservation package envisaged as part of the port project to mitigate its potential environmental impact.​

“​It is unacceptable to question the motives of people agitating for their rightful existence ​and​ livelihood. The CM should have personally met them ​and​ heard them out. I expected that after my recent meeting with him on this issue. I am disappointed he has not done so, [sic]” further tweeted Tharoor.

While agreeing that the problem of coastal erosion predated the port construction, the MP pointed out that the state and Central governments’ failure to provide adequate funds to build seawalls and groynes, like in Tamil Nadu, cost Kerala 64 sq km of territory.

Tharoor urged the chief minister to act with “sympathy and urgency.”