COAL BED METHANE PROJECT- Threat To Environment

COAL BED METHANE PROJECT- Threat To Environment

• Farmers and agriculture experts have expressed apprehensions over the proposed coal bed methane exploration in the Mannargudi area of Cauvery delta and said it would threaten the environment, water resource and food security.
• Speaking at the seminar on ‘coal bed methane gas production and food security of Cauvery delta’ organised by the Centre for Cauvery Delta Development Studies (CCDDS) here on Monday, they said the Cauvery delta was a food-producing area and there was a vast difference in extracting coal bed methane in Mannargudi and other places such as Ranikunj.
• Mannargudi is a lignite zone and a fertile land, while it is not so in places such as Ranikunjthey said.
• S. Janagarajan from the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) said Cauvery delta was already vulnerable and production of coal bed methane would damage it further environmentally, economically and socially. He said methane was much worse than CO2. The Great Eastern Energy Corporation Limited (GEECL), which is going to explore and produce methane gas in Mannargudi area had silently applied for a Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) with the State government.
• Exploration and other tests would continue for five years and the GEECL had got the permit to quit if tests proved that production was not profitable. But by that time the land and water in the region would be damaged, he complained.
• P. M. Natarajan, member of working group, Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu, said coal bed methane production would affect underground water table. As the project was to be taken up in the ancient Cauvery delta region, it would affect food production and livelihood of farmers and farm labourers too.
• N. Ramachandran, Vice-Chancellor, Periyar Maniammai University, said that technology was not used on a large scale in agriculture. He called for evolving waterless technology to cultivate crops as water had become a problem.
• S. Ranganathan, Chairman of CCDDS, said livelihood of farmers and farm labourers would be affected if the project was allowed.
• Danabalan and P.R.Pandian, farmers’ representatives, said farmers had not been consulted before clearing the proposal.
• Jayaram Srinivasan, Managing Director of GEECL, however, said methane was an important natural gas and the cleanest form of energy. GEECL was the first company to produce methane and commercially market it in India. He said that methane produced in the Mannargudi area wold be used only locally.
• GEECL has been given permission to produce coal bed methane in 33 blocks in the country, including Mannargudi.

Methane was a better substitute for petrol and diesel. Water pumped before taking methane would be tested for its quality and used either for irrigation or allowed to evaporate.

 But this should not lead the farmer to dump their land and lose their life's just for the growth of corporates and foreign industries who are implementing banned methods which harm environment.

GAIL PROJECT -TAMILNADU: People Verdict

GAIL PROJECT -TAMILNADU: People Verdict

GAIL project in Tamilnadu

Industrial Development this term making the people of Tamilnadu become angry over the ruling government, Development without food and farming will never be a good sign of development is what the Farmers felt about GAIL Project in Tamilnadu

GAIL running its Kochi-Bangalore natural gas pipeline across agricultural land in the State

The pipeline runs for over 310 km in Tamil Nadu, covering Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri, and Krishnagiri districts.

Fair minded persons will not accept industrial growth coming at the expense of farmers being affected, the Chief Minister said. If a project will have an impact, then the impact, benefit and national good have to be assessed before a decision can be taken.

It is on this basis that the State Government had thought deeply on the issue and decided that the pipeline should be aligned along the highways.

This will make available the Liquefied Natural Gas to the industry and other consumers without affecting the farmers, she said.

The Government’s announcement follows a series of Madras High Court-ordered public hearings it conducted following a petition by a farmers’ organisation.

According to farmers’ representatives, in the court today, the Advocate General represented the State Government’s stand on the issue. The court has given time till April 2 for the Government to file its stand in writing.

A GAIL spokesperson said, “We will not be able to comment” on the issue.

A source familiar with the project, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the State Government’s stand stalls the Rs 3,263-crore project, with a planned length of 6,126 km of pipeline, carrying 16 mmscmd of gas.

CROSS-COUNTRY

The project has been aligned as a cross-country line under vacant and agricultural land taking the ‘shortest possible route’ as provided by the Petroleum and Minerals Pipeline Act, 1962, a Central legislation.

In India, of the 12,000 km of pipeline for various projects, just about 25 km is aligned along highways as a ‘last resort,’ the source said. Globally too, this is the approach to gas pipelines as a highway alignment will mean more populated areas will be impacted. Such `high pressure’ pipelines `are never taken along the highway,’ the source added.

In Tamil Nadu itself over 270 km of gas pipeline have been laid under other projects under agricultural land in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and other areas, the source said.

Regarding the GAIL pipeline, the source said, as provided under the Act, the company acquired the Right-of-Use of a 20 metre breadth of land along the pipeline alignment under the Act. Once the line is laid the farmers get their land back with minimal restrictions.

They are only not allowed to construct any permanent structures along the 20-m breadth of the pipeline.

On the status of the project in Tamil Nadu, the source said about 20 km length has been graded and 10 per cent of the pipes transported to the sites and pipeline materials have been procured. Each pipe is about three tonnes and 11 metres long. The pipeline laying contract has also been awarded.

A change in the alignment will mean the cost will treble as the project will need to be redesigned to bring in a different class of pipes.

Also, the project planned to be completed in about a year will be delayed by more than three years, the source said. Also, the consumers – essentially industry which needs the fuel – will end up bearing the costs, the source said.

It is a clean fuel and feedstock in demand across range of industries.

The project had met with some resistance in Kerala and parts of Karnataka where compensation was hiked as appropriate.

For instance, in Karnataka Gail has hiked the compensation for land six times as compared with its initial estimate particularly in urban centres like Tumkur.

In Kerala there are issues in Calicut and Kannur which are being tackled. The gas pipeline project can only proceed with the cooperation of State Governments. Gail is worried that Tamil Nadu’s stand could set a precedent in other States.

The Tamil Nadu Government’s stand has “very much surprised GAIL.”

The company will now explore other legal options once the High Court passes an order.