1. Projects

2. Environmental impact and oppositions

3. References

The Kaveri delta coal-bed methane extraction project is a series of projects to extract methane gas and hydrocarbon from coal-bed by using hydraulic fracturing in the Kaveri river basin in Tamil Nadu, India. The extraction projects faced series of opposition from the farmers, environmentalists, and experts as exploration areas covering Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Thiruvarur districts which are the major rice cultivating area of Tamil Nadu.

Projects

In July 2009, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India gave licence to Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited to explore and extract coalbed methane for 667 square kilometers in the Mannarkudi block of Thiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu.^[1] Subsequently, the state government under Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam licensed the firm towards research about the presence of methane particles on sighting industrial development in the locality. However on exploration, the company found the presence of methane particles and the company has a plan to drill 50 core production wells of 150-450 metre deep in the ground. In September 2012, the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests (UMOEF) issued environmental clearance to the project.^[2] The farmers and environmentalists staged public protests against the permission for extraction. The state government under Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam suspended the project in 2013.^[3][4] On November 10 2016, the Union Minister of state for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, said that the project has been withdrawn.^[5]

In 2009, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) dug a well in Neduvasal, Pudukottai district to explore hydrocarbon in the region.^[6] As part of Government of India's Discovered small fields policy, a contract given to GEM laboratories private limited in December 2016 to extract hydrocarbon for 10 square kilometers in the village.^[7] Opposition from the farmers stopped the project in May 2018.^[8]

In October 2018, Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan signed agreement with the Vedanta Limited and ONGC to extract hydrocarbon in Nagapattinam and Chidambaram respectively.^[9] The farmers in the region opposed the agreement and burnt an effigy of Pradhan.^[10]

Environmental impact and oppositions

From the time the public become aware of this project, it was fervently opposed by the farmers of Kaveri delta region. Organic farming expert G. Nammalvar was spearheading the opposition until his death due to brief illness in the demonstration field.^[11]

Protesters often cite the possibility of harmful and dangerous effects of the project to agriculture and life in the region.

On 15 February 2017, people of Neduvasal started their agitation a day after Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approval to extract the fields. The agitation continued for 22 days, after meeting with the Petroleum minister, the Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan assured that "Central government will not force any project against the wishes of the people."^[12] In April 12, the protests resumed after the information that project would be executed.^[13] The protests called off after 174 days following assurance from the district administration.^[8]

References

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