India claims for economic zones in the sea
pti, panaji | 15 February 2010 21:58 IST
India has staked its claim over additional exclusive economic zone in Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal, which would be used to explore the resources beneath it, a union minister said.
Union minister for science and technology Prithviraj Chauhan told reporters today that India has put its claim with the UN for 0.6 million square kilometers of additional exclusive economic zones in the West and East coasts.
He said the location on West coast is almost 200 nautical miles off Mumbai's shore.
The minister was down in the state to visit National Antarctic and Ocean Research Centre (NAORC) and National Institute of Oceanography - two of India's premier research laboratories.
According to Chauhan, the sediments washed away from the rivers and piled up in the sea basin create rich mineral resource, which is the future energy source.
"The exclusive economic zone areas are available depending on the landmass. If you have 3.3 million square kilometers of land mass, then you are entitled for equal area of land in the sea basin," he said.
India will chart out its additional exclusive economic zone based on the sediments washed away from the Indus river in the Arabian sea and Ganga in the Bay of Bengal.
The minister said that the UN will have to take call on India's claim for additional exclusive economic zone.
Chauhan also said that the centre has sanctioned funds for NIO to acquire three more research vessels worth Rs 250 crore.
He said the R V Sindhu Sankalp, a research vessel acquired by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), would be handed over to the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) within a few weeks.
Two more vessels will also be added to NIO's crew, which work in the mid sea on different assignments.
