Farmers resolve not to sell lands for hydrocarbon project

The meeting pointed out the general secretary of the association, P R Pandian, filing a case with the National Green Tribunal to not allow ONGC to explore ecologically-destructive hydrocarbon, shale gas and coal bed methane. The meeting recalled that the arguments by Vaiko, the general secretary of MDMK, and Siva Rajasekaran, the former general secretary of the association, had led to the tribunal imposing a ban. Only after the assurance from ONGC and the Government of Tamil Nadu that only petroleum crude and natural gas would be explored, the ban was lifted by the NGT. The ONGC had then given assurance that hydrocarbon extraction would not be performed in areas like Periyakudi and Vikrapandiam.

Meanwhile, the Union Government giving nod to EIA by ONGC for hydrocarbon extraction is against NGT orders, the meeting pointed out. Hence, the meeting urged the Centre and State governments to completely ban the extraction of hydrocarbon in the Cauvery delta by ONGC and Vedanta.

In another resolution taken, the meeting pointing to the then government led by J Jayalalithaa permanently banning the exploration of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) and hydrocarbon in fertile agriculture lands, urged the incumbent government led by Edappadi K Palaniswami not to dishonour the decision made by the former CM.

The meeting also pointed out if the proposal by ONGC to dig wells to explore hydrocarbon in 40 places including Vikrapandiayam and Kottur was implemented, the fertile agricultural lands and the ground water in these areas would be badly affected and the habitations would be removed, forcing the people to migrate to other places as refugees. Hence the project should be dropped, the meeting said.

Referring to the Madras High Court’s verdict against the Chennai-Salem Expressway and the directive to the government to get the concerns of the farmers addressed, the meeting highlighted that the Centre’s law had clearly stated that land should not be acquired without the consent of the farmer. Hence the farmers in the area would start a movement not to give land for the hydrocarbon projects, it resolved.