Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday ordered setting up of an expert committee to study in depth the impact of the coal-bed methane project of Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd on the farm land and ground water table of the Cauvery delta region.

 

In a statement issued here, Jayalalithaa said the committee would submit its report in three months and till the time the government took a decision on the report, Great Eastern Energy would not be allowed to carry on its exploration work. The committee members will be from Anna University, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M).

 

The committee will also have officials of public works department, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), department of agriculture and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. The chief minister said her government would not permit any project that affects the farm lands of the Cauvery delta region.

 

Jayalalithaa said the government has decided to implement a Rs.1,560-crore project to protect the Cauvery delta region as there is a risk of seawater incursion in the underground water table. She said some of the chemicals used while extracting the gas are poisonous, water soluble and have radiation risks.

 

Given that risk due to climate change — with farmers raising serious concerns and studies too supporting the farmers' fears — the coal-bed methane project in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts would be permitted only if it would not impact the farmers, she said.

 

Jayalalithaa said the central government, based on an auction, had allocated 610 sq km of land area to Great Eastern Energy and also signed a production sharing agreement in 2010. The erstwhile DMK government issued the petroleum exploration licence to Great Eastern Energy Jan 1, 2011 and also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the company Jan 4, 2011.

 

Public hearings on the project were held in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts on Dec 29, 2011 and Jan 23, 2012, respectively. "At these meetings, the farmers raised the issues of groundwater getting affected, environmental impact and other issues. Without giving any explanations to the doubts raised by the farmers, the union ministry for environment and forests issued its sanction to the project laying down a few conditions Sep 12, 2012," Jayalalithaa said. She said the TNPCB has to give its sanction to Great Eastern Energy to drill deep wells. The board has not given any permission to the company till date.

 

 In April, MDMK general secretary Vaiko issued a statement against the project as it would damage farm land. Once the water is sucked out, the danger of water level in the Cauvery river basin going below 500 ft exists. When the ground water level goes below 500 ft, there is the danger of that area becoming a desert. There will be incursion of seawater turning the ground water saline, he said.