Afcons rejects Villimale reef damage assessment; seeks own survey

India's Afcons Infrastructure has rejected an assessment done by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) over the damage caused to Villimale reef by a Self Evaluating Platform (SEP) that ran adrift during the Greater Male Connectivity Bridge (GMCP) works and requested permission to carry out its own survey, EPA announced Sunday. 

On 16 August, the SEP used to drill boreholes required for the GMCP bridge pillars had gone adrift amid strong currents while it was being driven to be anchored to the main hull. Drifting with the current, the platform had run aground on the outer Villimale reef, injuring the three people on the platform when it had crashed.

A week after the crash, local NGOs advocating for environmental conservation began protesting the delay in the dislodging of the platform, and expressed their concern regarding the damage this delay could be causing to the reef.

The platform was dislodged 11 days later. The eight days after that were spent on clearing away the underwater debris caused by the crash, and EPA managed to conduct their damage assessment after the cleanup was done.

EPA had published photos taken by diving into the area where the platform was located. The photos showed that large craters had been dug in the Vilimale reef and that the corals of the reef had been destroyed.

EPA had earlier said that they would soon publish the amount Afcons will be fined with, along with damage assessment details. However, EPA has been unable to publish its findings due to Afcons failure to respond to the survey report.

EPA Director General Ibrahim Naeem told Atoll Times on Sunday that Afcons had submitted a proposal two weeks ago to conduct its own survey. 

"Afcons says that the damage area measured is much bigger. So, they want to go there and survey on their own," he said.

"We offered them the chance to participate in our survey, but they declined."

Naeem said that Afcons has been given another seven days to respond to the EPA report. Naeem did not disclose when the deadline was granted. However, he said the seven-day deadline has not yet expired.

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