CONSTRUCTION OF PORT AT VADHAVAN

Early day motion 461, tabled 14 November 1997 by Tony Colman (Labour). Signed by 22 members.

That this House expresses grave concerns about the proposal by P&O Australia, a subsidiary of P&O UK, to construct an industrial port at Vadhavan in Dahanu Tuluka; notes that Dahanu is an indigenously populated region in India which has been designated as an ecologically fragile area under India's Environmental Protection Act 1986 and that new construction within 500 metres of the Dahanu coastline is not permitted under the Indian Coastal Regulation Zone Notification of 1991; applauds BBC Newsnight for exposing the fact that in order to proceed with construction of the port it will be necessary for environmental laws protecting the area to be overturned; notes that P&O has commissioned a socio-economic report which criticises the port development on the basis that it will destroy the existing self-sufficient and sustainable economies of the local villages and cause irrevocable environmental damage to the surrounding coastline; seeks clarification from the Government about its responsibility for regulating the overseas activities of United Kingdom based companies; regrets that the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, currently being negotiated, has inadequate environmental and social safeguards and contains only voluntary guidelines on corporate behaviour; is concerned that the P&O port development illustrates the consequences for developing countries if mandatory safeguards are not included in the MAI; and urges the Government to ensure that the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, currently under negotiation, prevents rather than facilitates such unsustainable development in future.

Signatures by party: Labour 16, Liberal Democrat 5, Plaid Cymru 1.