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Great Eastern Energy Corporation will not be allowed to explore for coal bed methane in the Cauvery Delta Districts till farmers’ pollution concerns are addressed, the Tamil Nadu Government announced on Wednesday.
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has told officials that the company should not be allowed to carry out work till an expert committee submits its report on this issue in three months.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said Great Eastern received a licence from the Central Government for coal bed methane exploration and production over 691 sq km in Thanjavur and Thiruvarur districts, the heartland of paddy cultivation.
Farmers here have expressed the fear that such activity could lead to ground-water depletion, soil alkalinity and environmental pollution.
Jayalalithaa has constituted an expert committee with representatives from the Anna University, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and officials from the departments of Public Works and Agriculture, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
She said the Central Government had entered into an exploration and production-sharing agreement with the company on July 29, 2010. In January 2011 the then DMK-led State Government had issued a four-year licence and entered into an agreement to facilitate the project.
Public hearings were conducted in December 2011 and January 2012, at which farmers had expressed concerns about ground-water contamination, environmental pollution and related issues.
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests gave conditional clearance on September 2012. But the farmers’ concerns were not addressed, the Chief Minister said in the statement. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has not cleared the project yet, she said.
Great Eastern Statement
The company said in a statement it is waiting for Consent to Establish from the State Government to start work. It has received the environment clearance from the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests and its Expert Appraisal Committee. It was awarded a block in the Mannargudi region to explore and produce coal bed methane.
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