Missile testing must heed turtles' nesting: Ramesh to Antony -Governance Now

Missile testing must heed turtles' nesting: Ramesh to Antony

Environment minister wants defence minister to ensure DRDO testing doesn't impede the nesting of Olive Ridley turtles

Neha Sethi | May 4, 2011

Environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh has written to defence minister A K Antony to request him to ensure that the missile testing facility of defence research and development organisation (DRDO) at Wheeler Island in Orissa follows conditions imposed by the forest department.

In a letter dated May 2, Ramesh has said, “I am informed that while granting permission to DRDO, the state forest department has imposed certain conditions which include restriction on test firing during turtle breeding and nesting times. I am told that this condition is violated routinely. This has had adverse impacts on breeding and nesting of Olive Ridley turtles for which the Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary is perhaps the most important location in the world.”

Ramesh has requested Antony to personally intervene to ensure that DRDO complies with the conditions stipulated when the approval was given in 1993. He has said that DRDO should take ‘extra measures suggested by the state forest department in protecting and conserving the Wheeler Island ecosystem as well.’

The permission to DRDO was granted in 1993-1994 for establishing a missile test firing facility in Wheeler Island. Wheeler Island is very close to the Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary.

Biswajit Mohanty, the co-ordinator of Operation Kachhapa, a turtle conservation group said that every year bright illumination and firing of missiles during the turtle breeding and nesting season affects the sea turtles. “Sea turtles are extremely sensitive to illumination and bright lights usually drive away the adults while attracting the hatchlings. Similarly, the vibrations caused by missile firing could possible impact the fragile egg shells of lakhs of eggs which are buried in the sand in the nesting beach,” he added.

Mohanty said that inspite of regular requests by the state government to stop such activities during the nesting season from November to March, DRDO continues with such activities without being concerned over the effects on the turtle population. Every year, numerous letters are dispatched by the local district forest officer and the chief wildlife warden, Orissa to the DRDO urging them not to carry out missile testing during the turtle season and to shut off all lights.

According to the forest department in Orissa, more than 2.5 lakh turtles nested at the site this year.

A copy of the letter has been attached.

Comments

Other News

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al

Import duty on major edible oils cut

The government has reduced the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on major imported crude edible oils with a view to moderating domestic edible oil prices, providing relief to consumers and mitigating inflationary pressures arising from the sharp increase in international edible oil prices.