Bishop of Mannar, environmentalists file FR against Adani wind power project

Bishop of Mannar, environmentalists file FR against Adani wind power project

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In a significant move, Bishop of the Diocese of Mannar Rev. Emmanuel Fernando and three prominent environmentalists filed a fundamental rights petition in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court yesterday against the proposed 250 MW Mannar Wind Power Project by Adani Green Energy. 

The petition, lodged by environmentalists Rohan Pethiyagoda, Prof. Nimal Gunatilleke, Prof. Sarath Kotagama, and Bishop Rev. Fr. Fernando, seeks to halt the project on grounds of environmental and procedural concerns.

The petition, filed in the public interest, names 67 respondents, including the Cabinet of Ministers, the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA), the Central Environmental Authority, the Board of Investments, the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Public Utilities Commission, and the Attorney General. 

The Petitioners have questioned the credibility of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the SLSEA and claimed the EIA was flawed and that the approval process lacked transparency. They also question the project’s portrayal as a Government-to-Government initiative with India

Additionally, the petition challenges the financial terms of the power purchase agreement, which set the tariff at $ 0.0826 per kWh, compared to the $ 0.046 per kWh cost estimated in the EIA. This discrepancy, they argue, could result in significant financial loss to the country and burden consumers.

Environmentalists warn that the project could disrupt the delicate ecosystems of Mannar, which is known for its rich biodiversity and as a vital stopover for migratory birds. The proposed construction site intersects with crucial wetlands and protected areas, including the Adam’s Bridge Marine National Park and the Vankalai Ramsar Sanctuary.

The Petitioners are seeking a Supreme Court declaration that the fundamental rights of the Petitioners and the citizenry have been violated. They are also asking for the decision to award the project to Adani Green Energy to be declared wrongful and for any consequential actions to be deemed illegal.

The petition emphasises that it has been filed in the national interest, aiming to preserve and protect public property, including the environment, flora, and fauna. It also seeks to safeguard public finances and uphold the rights and freedoms of the Sri Lankan populace and future generations.

This is the second legal challenge against Adani Green Energy’s wind power project in Sri Lanka. The first case was filed on 17 May by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS). Their petition also raised concerns about the environmental impact and lack of transparency, particularly emphasising the threat to Mannar’s unique biodiversity and its significance as a migratory bird corridor.

Despite these legal challenges, Sri Lanka’s Government has proceeded with the project, which includes a 20-year power purchase agreement with Adani Green Energy, set at $ 0.0826 per kWh. Critics argue that these inflated prices worsen the ongoing fiscal crisis and undermine public trust in governance⍐.

Daily FT Wednesday, 12 June 2024

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AKD on Sri Lanka’s ethnic issue:`` They must be given a right make decisions for themselves'`

 AKD on Sri Lanka’s ethnic issue: NPP concerned with future, not past

ECONOMYNEXT — The leftist National People’s Power (NPP) is concerned not with the past but the future, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said following a discussion with representatives of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) in Jaffna.

Dissanayake told reporters on Tuesday June 11 that the NPP in their manifesto for the 2019 presidential election had recognised the need for Sri Lanka’s provincial council system to continue.

“We must also have a dialogue on moving forward. 

There is a need for constitutional changes. We must also implement the provisions in the constitution that establish peace,” he said.

“In the present, we’re not about the past but how to create the future. To do that, Tamil people should be given a strong guarantee of rights in politics. They must be given a right make decisions for themselves. If everyone lives in the past, we will not be able to create a future,” said Dissanayake.

The NPP leader did not elaborate on the meaning of “right to make decisions for themselves”.

The party has been largely noncommital on its stance on the 13th amendment to the constitution, which the Marxist-Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which controls the NPP, violently opposed during the late 1980s.

The full implementation of the 13th amendment continues to be a point of debate.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has indicated his willingness to fully implement the amendment without police powers, particularly in light of India stressing on its importance. 

Sharing police powers remains an issue, with many nationalist parties in the south arguing against it. 

The 13th amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution emerged from the controversial Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 as a purported solution to the worsening ethnic conflict, four years after war broke out. 

Provincial councils came in the wake of this amendment, though land and police powers have yet to be devolved to the provinces as originally envisioned. 

Both Sinhalese and Tamil nationalists have historically opposed the amendment, the former claiming it devolved too much, the latter complaining it didn’t devolve enough. 

A full implementation of the amendment would see land and police powers devolved to the provinces, a development that is not likely to garner support from Sri Lanka’s more hardline parties. In February, sections of the Buddhist clergy took to the streets against the proposed full implementation of the constitutional amendment.

 

(Economy Next: Colombo/Jun11/2024)

எம்மைப் போலவே ஜே.வி.பி உம் 13ஐ தீர்வாக ஏற்கவில்லை! - சட்டத்தரணி சுமந்திரன்

தமிழர் வாக்குகளிற்காக தென்னிலங்கை கட்சிகள் வடக்கிற்கு படையெடுத்துள்ள நிலையில் இன்று காலை யாழ்ப்பாணத்தில் இலங்கைத் தமிழரசுக் கட்சியின் பிரதிநிதிகளை தேசிய மக்கள் சக்தி குழுவினர் சந்தித்திருந்தனர்.

இந்நிலையில் தேசிய இனப் பிரச்சினைக்குப் புதிய அரசமைப்பு மூலமே தீர்வு காணப்பட வேண்டும். அதுவரையில் தற்போதுள்ள மாகாண சபை முறைமையை அரசமைப்பின் 13 ஆவது திருத்தத்தின் முழு நடைமுறையாக்கத்தோடு முன்னெடுக்க வேண்டும்.அதுவே எமது நிலைப்பாடு என தேசிய மக்கள் சக்தியின் தலைவர் அனுரகுமார திசநாயக்க தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

அதேவேளை அநுரகுமார திஸாநாயக்க தெரிவித்த கருத்துக்களிற்கு பதிலளித்துள்ள எம்.ஏ.சுமந்திரன் "மாகாண சபை முறைமை முழு அளவில் நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டும் என்பதை 2019 ஜனாதிபதித் தேர்தல் விஞ்ஞாபனத்திலேயே தாங்கள் இடம்பெறச் செய்துள்ளதாக அனுரகுமார தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

தமிழரின் தேசிய இனப் பிரச்சினைக்கு 13 ஆவது திருத்தம் தீர்வாகாது என்று தமிழர் தரப்பு கூறுவதைப் போலவே, அது தீர்வு அல்ல என்பதை அவர்கள்  (JVP) ஏற்றுக்கொண்டுள்ளனர்.

அத்துடன் தேசிய இனப் பிரச்சினைக்குத் தீர்வு புதிய அரசமைப்பு மூலமே எட்டப்பட வேண்டும் .அதுவரையில் மாகாண சபை முறைமை நீடிக்க வேண்டும். தாமதிக்காமல் மாகாண சபைத் தேர்தல்கள் நடத்தப்பட வேண்டும். 13 ஆம் திருத்தம் மூலம் அரசமைப்புக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ள அனைத்து ஏற்பாடுகளும் நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டும் என தாமும் வலியுறுத்தியமாக எம்.ஏ.சுமந்திரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

நன்றி:பதிவு இணையம்