Dear Colleague:

You may have received e-mails from the Greenpeace India raising concerns on the construction of the Dhamra Port (Orissa) and its impact on the Olive Ridley Turtles. Greenpeace India have been carrying out a anti –Dhamra Port campaign since Tata Steel joined the Dhamra Port Company as a 50:50 stakeholder, along with L&T Limited, in 2004. The port project was started in 1994 and Greenpeace India started their campaign in 2005 after Tata Steel entered the project.

Tata Steel had been aware of the concerns when it decided to participate in the port project and was reassured that the project, in terms of its location and operations, would not impact the habitat of the vulnerable Olive Ridley Turtles. Apart from its own findings and the fact that the environmental agencies of the State of Orissa and the Government of India had already given their stamp of approval for the port, Tata Steel invited environment conservation agencies and prominent environmentalists, including Greenpeace India, to further research the subject. It held back the construction of the port for over a year to give time to all concerned to carry out research to their satisfaction. In the absence of any one coming forward to conduct the research, Dhamra Port Company commenced construction, assured in the knowledge that the port will be environment friendly.

To further reassure ourselves and to get advanced knowledge on the mitigation measures for conservation of the Olive Ridley Turtles, we requested the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an internationally known conservation agency, to advise the project team.

While the above efforts were on, Greenpeace India decided to target the port project and the Chairman of the Tata group in its agitations in India. As you are aware, the Tata group and Tata Steel have always been committed to environmental sustainability.

The targeted disinformation and unprecedented escalation of anonymous or unfounded facts targeting our Chairman and the Tata group needs to be exposed and the facts of the issue need to be known to all.

At present, Greenpeace India are running an e-mail campaign asking uninformed people, including a large number of executives in the Tata group, to send e-mails to our Chairman protesting the project. It is thus important that we give you a detailed account of the issue, facts about the potential impact of the port on the Olive Ridley Turtles and our efforts to mitigate the same.

Please find attached a note on the issue and also the reply of Mr S K Mohapatra, CEO of Dhamra Port Co Ltd, to Greenpeace India on the concerns raised by them. We request you to read these documents to reassure yourselves that our group remains committed to the well-being of the environment. To get further details/facts/clarifications, you can also log on to www.dhamraport.com or e-mail your queries to amlan@dhamraport.com. You may also wish to visit the IUCN website, www.iucn.org/places/asia, which will give you their perspective on the subject.

We also request you to forward this e-mail to all your friends and family so that the truth is known and the trust in our Group is re-affirmed.

Chief Corporate Communications

Click here for the Letter to Greenpeace India in reply to their concerns.
Click here for the Note on Dhamra Port project and Olive Ridley Turtles