The study will look at the potential losses faced by various groups due to the second, third, and fourth phases of expansion of the Vizhinjam Port.

The study will look at the potential losses faced by various groups due to the second, third, and fourth phases of expansion of the Vizhinjam Port.

The study will look at the potential losses faced by various groups due to the second, third, and fourth phases of expansion of the Vizhinjam Port.

The Kerala government has invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from eligible agencies to conduct a social impact study (SIS) ahead of the expansion of the Vizhinjam Port.

Specifically, the study will look at the potential losses faced by various groups due to the second, third, and fourth phases of expansion of the port, which is crucial to the state government's ₹400-crore Mission Samudra plan to develop the state into a port city.

Apart from examining how groups like fisherfolk, tourism sector workers, and small-scale traders are likely to be affected, the SIS will also look at the existing challenges they face.

Vizhinjam, Adimalathura, Jubilee Nagar, Pulinkudy and Ambalathumoola are some of the areas where the study will be conducted.

All EoIs are to be submitted to the Sub-Collector and Chairperson of the Rehabilitation Implementation Committee (RIC) by November 13.

However, only agencies empanelled in the Thiruvananthapuram district to conduct such studies under the Land Acquisition Act—and legally registered in India—can apply.

The eligible agencies are also required to have at least five years of operational experience, valid PAN and GST registrations, and must not be under any government-imposed ban or any other kind of blacklist. Further details on the planned study can be found here.

Notably, this comes just weeks after the beach in Pulinkudy—one of the focus regions of the study—came into the news after the Kerala High Court ordered that work related to the Vizhinjam Port taking place over there be stopped.

A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. noted on October 18 that no one was able to show that the work being carried out there by the Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd (VISL) and the Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Ltd (AVPPL)—had received approval from the Union Environment Ministry, and that it had not been a part of the "existing and proposed master plan" of the VISL, as per a PTI report.

The case was heard in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Thiruvananthapuram resident named Benedict, and has been adjourned to November 25.

Environmental claims linked to Vizhinjam again came up in the Kerala High Court on October 30, when it ruled that the state government-appointed Expert Committee's report—declining claims that the port was causing coastal erosion—was flawed.

The case was heard by Justice Harisankar V. Menon, based on a writ petition by the residents of fishing villages situated about 20km from the Vizhinjam Port, who alleged that its construction—particularly its breakwaters—had resulted in a great deal of coastal erosion on the northern side and accretion on the southern side.

Calling it an existential crisis for fishing communities, they alleged that several residents had either lost their houses or suffered extensive damage to their properties as a result.

The state government responded by saying that the coastal erosion was attributable to high wave activity and cyclonic conditions along the western coast, rather than the construction of the seaport, and that in any case, rehabilitation schemes for the petitioners were already in place.

AVPPL, the concessionaire for the port, also told the court that extensive environmental studies had taken place before the port received statutory approval.

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