Centre won’t touch Ram Setu, says Subramanian Swamy

The Centre has taken a decision not to cut through “Ram Setu” in implementing the Sethusamudram canal project, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Making this submission before a bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra, Dr Swamy said that after orders were reserved in 2008 on petitions challenging the project, the Pachauri Committee went into the question of alternative alignment. He said this committee entrusted the task to the National Institute of Oceanography of exploring the feasibility of the project and it said the project in the alternative alignment of 4A was not feasible.

The UPA government had informed the court that it had not accepted Dr Pachauri’s report and that the project would be implemented in the original alignment of 6. According to Dr Swamy, the NDA government has now revised its stand and had taken a decision not to touch Ram Setu which would virtually mean that the project has to be scrapped.

When the CJI asked Dr Swamy “how do you know that the Centre has decided not to touch Ram Setu”, he said “according to his information, the government had taken that decision and it is for this court to ask the Centre whether it is correct or not.” He said he had also asked for a declaration that Ram Setu should be declared as a National Heritage monument and the Centre has not replied to his application so far. He pleaded for early listing of the matter and the CJI assured him that it would be listed early.

According to Dr Pachauri Committee’s report, the consequences of carrying out the Sethusamudram Project in alignment 4A is so disastrous for India that no one with any sense of responsibility/conscience could thereafter proceed with the Project at all. During the UPA regime, the Centre made it clear to the court that it did not accept the conclusions and recommendations of the Expert Committee headed by Dr Pachauri that it was unlikely that public interest would be served if the project was implemented as per Alignment No. 4 A (alternative route suggested by the court as against the original Alignment No. 6 which will cut through Ram Setu.)

Source : Asian Age