K'taka Govt to develop Karwar port at a cost of Rs 1,200 cr

Malpe, Karnataka, Sep 8 (UNI) The Karnataka Government has decided to develop the Karwar Port at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore under private participation, Minister for Port and Environment Krishna J Palemar said today.

Talking to newspersons after visiting Malpe Fisheries Port here, he said the tender process was expected to be completed within the next three months.

It had been decided to develop 10 major ports in the state during the next five years, involving private participation.

The development works included, construction of additional jetty, landing area for fishing vessels and drudging work of the port, he added.

The minister said the government had already released Rs 12 crore for the third phase expansion of Malpe Fisheries Port, construction of additional area for parking the fisheries port at Baputhota.

Replying to a query, Mr Palemar said the drudging work at the port here had been taken up and one third of the drudging work had already been completed, for which the government had sanctioned a total of Rs 10 crore.

On Tebma Ship building company, which had already begun its ship building activities despite stiff opposition from the local fishing community, the Minister said he would go through all the details about the agreement made between the government and the company.

If there were any violation of the agreement by the company, the government would take suitable action, he added.

The ministry was of a strong view that any development should not harm the interest of the fishing community, he said adding the ministry was committed to protecting the interests of the community.

''We will not allow Tebma to cheat the fishing community. If there was any lapse on the part of the officials, the Ministry would not hesitate to initiate actions against them,'' he clarified On Udupi Power Company's alleged fraud in environmental clearance, he said he would go into every detail and strictly take action against the company if it was found guilty.

''There are five most pollutant industries in the district, out of the listed 130 such industries in the state. We will keep a close watch on these industries and strict actions would be initiated against any violation of environmental issues without bending to any type of influence,'' he added.

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