GAIL PROJECT -TAMILNADU: People Verdict
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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.