Ram Setu Debate Returns: What Is TN’s Tiff With Centre on Sethusamudram Project?

The project would reduce the time required for ships to travel between the east and west coasts of India.

The Sethusamudram project would reduce the time required for ships to travel between the east and west coasts of India.

(Image: Namita Chauhan/The Quint)

The debate on Ram Setu has reignited in Tamil Nadu as Chief Minister MK Stalin on 12 January, moved a special resolution in the Legislative Assembly urging the Union Government to immediately revive and implement the controversial Sethusamudram project. The project has been on hold since 2007.

What is the Sethusamudram Project? It is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. The project involves digging a 44.9 nautical mile long (51.7 mi; 83.2 km) deep-water channel linking the shallow Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar.

Why is Tamil Nadu keen on this? CM Stalin said in the Assembly that implementing the Sethusamudram project will improve Tamil Nadu's economy, notably in the southern regions, and provide employment opportunities for the youth in the state.

The channel can help in considerable savings and earnings of foreign exchange as it aids easy navigation, said a source in the state government. Most importantly, it would reduce the distance and time required for ships to travel between the east and west coasts of India. 

So, why the opposition? The project has been controversial since its inception with many raising concerns about its environmental impact and the potential damage to the Ram Setu, a mythically significant bridge that is considered sacred by the Hindus.

What is Ram Setu? Rama Setu is a chain of natural limestone shoals, between Pamban Island in Tamil Nadu’s Rameswaram and Mannar island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka.

• Indian epic Ramayana suggests that the structure was built by an army of monkeys led by Lord Hanuman on behalf of Lord Ram to rescue his wife Sita who was held captive by Ravan in Sri Lanka.

• The structure is also called Adam’s Bridge as it is believed to have been formed by Adam’s footprints, when, according to a myth, he crossed over to India via the bridge after he was cast away from the biblical Garden of Eden. 

The Adam's Bridge as seen between India and Sri Lanka, from Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-59.

Political opposition: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai claimed, "This 4A (project alignment) is a very stupid project." He also alleged that the DMK will personally benefit from the project as the ministers are the key contractors.  

What is the Centre’s stand?

The central government said that while they aren’t against the project, they are figuring out a way that it will not cause any damage to the Ram Setu. In January 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up a committee to scientifically study Ram Setu.

What is Sri Lanka’s Stand? The project was not brought under the jurisdiction of Sri Lanka’s environmental impact assessment procedure for coastal conservation, because it falls within India’s territorial waters.

What Else? The channel is to be built in a biologically rich and highly productive sea area with over 3,600 species of plants and animals, including 117 species of corals and 17 species of mangroves. Some researchers have opined that dredging the canal could have an adverse ecological impact.