The State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has accorded clearance for the construction of the greenfield stadium on the campus of the University of Kerala, Karyavattom, being built in connection with the 35{+t}{+h}National Games.
In the order issued on Wednesday by the SEIAA member-secretary James Varghese, the authority has stipulated certain conditions for the National Games Secretariat (NGS) to comply with while constructing the stadium. This includes the provision that the existing and proposed roads leading to the highways should be wide enough to enable the free movement of fire engines and vehicular traffic and that the slope of the internal roads should be rectified appropriately.
The NGS has also been asked to provide weep holes in the compound walls at the project site to ensure natural drainage of rainwater during the monsoon period.
Solid waste management system should be established by the NGS, without depending on the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, in accordance with the provisions/guidelines of the State Pollution Control Board. The order says the compliance with these conditions will be monitored by the State Directorate of Environment and Climate Change and the Regional Office of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangalore. Further to this, the Authority has also issued an 11-point general conditions to be followed by the NGS on matters, including rainwater harvesting, the formation of an environment monitoring cell and the planting of suitable avenue trees.
