TN govt body issues notice to ONGC over hydrocarbon project in Ramanathapuram

THe tell Environmental wallop Assessment say-so (SEIAA) has issued a mark to the oil color and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) on the environmental concerns over a hydrocarbon exploratory project in Ramanathapuram district, officials in the state government said.“SEIAA has issued a notice to ONGC asking for the status of the Petroleum Exploration License (which they have to obtain from the department of natural resources),” finance minister Thangam Thennarusu, who also holds the Environment and Climate Change and Forests portfolio, told HT.The SEIAA had earlier granted ONGC clearance to carry out an environmental impact study on hydrocarbon reserves in Ramanathapuram dated March but it came to light in August and the move faced backlash from locals, environmentalists and political parties. On August 25, Thennarusu had said that the DMK-ruled government will not allow such projects in Tamil Nadu.“Following that, the Ramanathapuram district collector wrote to SEIAA of the government’s decision to withdraw the clearance given,” said an official not wishing to be named. “SEIAA has now issued a notice to ONGC seeking an explanation on why the clearance granted should not be withdrawn.”Officials in the natural resources department could not confirm the status of the exploration licence but confirmed that only after their approval can ONGC start work.According to the Protected Agricultural Zone (PAZ) Act, which was enacted by the state in 2020, Tamil Nadu bans exploration of hydrocarbons, natural gas, coal-based methane, and shale gas in the districts falling within the Cauvery delta regions, said the official. The delta region that comes under the Act includes districts such as Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Pudukottai. Locals have been demanding that Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai district be included in the Act since they are agricultural districts too.Farmers and fishermen in Ramanathapuram had been protesting for the Centre to cancel the hydrocarbon project meant for ONGC’s exploration by digging 20 wells that were proposed to spread across 1,403 sq km in Ramanathapuram. “Each well would have been drilled to depths of 2,000–3,000 metres and it would take up to four months,” the official said.Tamil Nadu based environmental organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal has been opposing this project since 2023 since the digging for the proposed exploratory wells would damage the farm lands on shore, notified bird sanctuaries and other ecologically fragile areas as well as the coastal ecosystem since it is,close to the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.“The ONGC has not responded to the notice on why the environmental clearance should not be withdrawn,” Prabhakaran Veeramani of Poovulagin Nanbargal told HT. “We will continue to oppose it until the government issues an order cancelling the project.”Following the initial environmental clearance even the ruling DMK’s ally, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) appealed for it to be revoked saying it posed a threat to fishermen’s livelihood and the environment. Opposition AIADMK and PMK, both allies of the BJP in Tamil Nadu AIADMK also demanded that the project be scrapped.Activists, locals and political parties have consistently opposed hydrocarbon projects in Tamil Nadu.