- India’s environment ministry has proposed extending environmental clearance validity for ports and harbours, citing long project gestation periods.
- The decision was shaped by two expert committees whose deliberations have not been made public, raising transparency concerns.
- India pursues is pursuing an ambitious port expansion plan that includes setting up several mega-ports like the Vizhinjam, Vadhavan, and Great Nicobar Island ports.
The Union Environment Ministry has proposed “rationalising” the validity of environmental clearances for port and harbour projects in India, increasing it from the current 10 year period to a 15 year period.
In addition to increasing the validity of the environmental clearance, the draft notification also proposes increasing the renewal period upon the completion of the clearance’s tenure, from one year to five years. The proposal was made in a draft notification issued on May 20.
According to the draft notification, the reason for increasing the clearance validity is because of the “high gestation period due to various issues, which are often beyond the control of the project proponent.” Ports and harbours can take over a decade from construction to commercial or full-scale operation.
India has 12 major ports and 217 non-major ports. In the 2025-2026 financial year, India’s ports collectively handled 915 million tonnes of cargo, according to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
“Often long gestation is symptomatic of unaddressed local grievances. Instead of addressing the problem by letting the locals air their grievances, and letting the project owners offer satisfactory solutions, the ministry of proposing a blanket extension,” said Meenakshi Kapoor, an independent researcher who tracks changes to India’s environmental clearance process.
A 2010 report on major and non major ports along India’s coastline found that out of 181 notified non major ports at the time, at least 41 (23%) had reported environmental concerns and 32 (18%) reported protests on social grounds. “A reapplication for EC would mean another public hearing, which is an opportunity to address unattended local grievances,” Kapoor added.
The Indian government has set a goal of expanding port capacity from 2,600 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 10,000 MTPA by 2047. “Key to this strategy is developing new ports with deeper drafts, increasing draft of the existing ports, establishing port clusters and transshipment hubs, developing automated ports, increasing private sector involvement, and enhancing policy support,” Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, told Parliament last year.
Read more: Port project sparks protests
Expert committees back the extension
An Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) deliberated over the proposal after a request was made to “rationalise” the environmental clearance period for ports and harbours. It decided that extending the time period was reasonable, and that the current 10 year period was “insufficient.” A second round of deliberation was undertaken by an internal Expert Advisory committee, which also endorsed the proposal, the notification says.
“Based on the recommendations of the Committees, the Ministry deems it appropriate to rationalise the validity period of the ECs granted to Ports and Harbours,” the notification adds. However, neither information about the request for rationalisation, nor the deliberations of the committees are available in the public domain.
Ports handling cargo equal to or exceeding 5 million tonnes per annum are required to apply for environmental clearance through the central government, while ports handling less than 5 million tonnes are appraised at the State/Union Territory level. Major ports are notified and controlled by the central government, while state governments are empowered to set up and operate non major ports.
India’s coastline is 11,084.5 kilometres long, which means that on average, a port can be found every 48 km. The 2010 report, authored by researchers from the environmental NGO Dakshin Foundation, noted that non major ports were not well planned by states. “The optimal number of ports must be centrally planned and not left to state governments to decide. An approach that permits unfettered free competition will result in some ports dying out while their impacts on the environment and communities continue,” it said.
The proposal to increase the environmental clearance validity for ports comes amid the development of at least three mega-ports across the country: the Vizhinjam Port in Kerala, Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra, and the Great Nicobar Island Transshipment Port in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The size and scale of each of these megaports each pose unique environmental challenges. Both the Vizhinjam and Vadhavan ports faced protests and opposition from local fishing communities, while the Great Nicobar Island port will destroy coral reefs and Galathea Bay, a rare leatherback turtle nesting site.
“The huge increase in project validity from 10 plus one years to 15 plus five years implies that the baselines on which a project was given clearance would remain the same even after 15 to 20 years. But considering how dynamic coasts are, there is no way these baselines could still be accurate,” said Kapoor.
A 2018 analysis of changes to India’s coastline by the National Centre for Coastal Research found that between 1990 to 2016, 34% of the national coastline had eroded, 28% had accreted (increased) and 38% was in stable state.
Banner image: A large container ship at Vizhinjam port in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
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