Tamil Nadu rejects proposal to set up 20 hydrocarbon wells

Tamil Nadu Minister of Environment and Climate Change Meyyanathan Siva V has declined a proposal by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to establish hydrocarbon test wells at 20 locations in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district in the Cauvery delta region.

The Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K Palaniswamy, had urged the state government to deny permission for ONGC’s proposal. Responding to Palaniswamy’s comments, Tamil Nadu’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Meyyanathan Siva V, said that the state government would not grant permission to any new hydrocarbon wells.

Palaniswamy, known as EPS, emphasised that during his tenure as Chief Minister, the Cauvery delta districts were designated as protected agricultural land to ensure the preservation of groundwater and farmlands from the impact of methane or hydrocarbon extraction. He firmly stated that ONGC’s proposal for hydrocarbon wells is unacceptable.

Palaniswamy accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and claiming that he did it by mistake.