New alignment of Sethusamudram not feasible, India’s Supreme Court told

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday was told that an alternate alignment for building Sethusamudram channel in the Palk Strait to facilitate navigation between India and Sri Lanka, while saving the mythical Ram Sethu, was “neither ecologically nor economically” feasible.

An apex court bench of Justice HL Dattu and Justice CK Prasad was told this in a report submitted by the committee headed by environmental expert Dr Rajender Pachauri.

Dr Pachauri gave his report after the apex court asked him to look into the possibility of an alternate alignment for Sethusamudram channel bypassing and saving the mythical Ram Sethu.

The report said that the alternate alignment “could potentially result in ecological threat that could pose a risk to the ecosystem in the surrounding areas and in particular to the biosphere reserve”.

The court granted the government eight weeks to respond to the report after solicitor general Rohington Nariman told the court that the government was yet to take a view on the report and needed some time. (IANS)