The Union Minister for Surface Transport & Shipping, Mr TR Baalu, on April 6, 2005, informed that the government had received environmental clearance for the Rs.2,000 crore Sethusamudram canal project in Tamil Nadu. 

The project, which involved setting up a navigable route linking Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar through Adam's Bridge, would now be placed before the Union Cabinet for its clearance.

The project will have to get the respective clearances from the Public Investment Board, Union finance ministry and the Planning Commission. 

The Tuticorin Port Trust, which is the nodal agency for implementing the project, had asked the Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute for conducting the environmental impact study on the project.

Mr Baalu said 2 per cent of the total cost of the project would be used for compensating fishermen, who would be displaced from the region. There were various objections by environmental groups and even the Sri Lankan government raised objections over the project.

Project significance: The Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project, on completion, will allow ships to sail from the West to East Coast and vice versa within India's own territorial waters, avoiding circumnavigation around Sri Lanka. It will also save 254 to 424 Nautical miles of sailing distance and up to 30 hours of sailing time for the ships.

Also See:
Tuticorin Port Trust lines up Rs.840 crore capex (01-Dec-04)