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Farmers and biology groups person voiced beardown absorption to the connection of Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited (HOEC) to drill 4 hydrocarbon wells 18 km disconnected the Parangipettai seashore successful Cuddalore district. The projected wells autumn wrong the Coastal Regulatory Zone-IVA.
The determination of the projected wells, which is hardly astatine a region of 11.48 km from the mangroves adjacent Mulukkuturai successful Pichavaram Reserve Forest and mangroves adjacent Parangipettai, has travel nether disapproval with assorted stakeholders, including fishermen and farmers successful the tail-end Delta region. Environmentalist pass the mangroves, which are location to respective taxon of flora and fauna, volition beryllium nether menace if the task is implemented.
The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued a announcement inviting bids nether the Open Acreage Licensing Policy. HOEC, which had submitted an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report, said the projected task was to offset the diminution successful accumulation without expanding approved accumulation levels successful PY-1 field, Cauvery Basin. The estimated outgo of the task is ₹425 crore. The exertion was submitted connected June 1 and is presently nether introspection of the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority. The 4 improvement wells person been projected disconnected the Parangipettai coast. Each good volition spell arsenic heavy arsenic 3,000 metres, according to the EIA, with seismic surveys and dense drilling instrumentality to precede exploration.
Threat to environment
According to G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal: “Drilling hydrocarbon wells successful coastal areas has terrible biology impacts and poses large risks to marine life. With rising oversea temperatures and disruption of marine ecosystem, projects specified arsenic this volition destruct coastal earthy resources and severely impact the livelihood of fishermen and tin person important ecological impact. In 2025, the Tamil Nadu authorities took a basal opposing hydrocarbon projects successful coastal areas. The State authorities should support the presumption quo and not urge clearance for the project.”
In a station connected X, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said drilling hydrocarbon wells successful the Bay of Bengal would severely harm food stocks and the region’s extended mangrove forests. The determination would lone pb to massive, irreversible biology harm and endanger livelihood of fishermen.
“The PMK has successfully pressed for the declaration of the Cauvery delta region, including respective areas successful Cuddalore, arsenic a Protected Agricultural Zone, to forestall biology harm from hydrocarbon projects. HOEC’s effort to propulsion for this task extracurricular the bound of the protected zone, having realised it cannot proceed wrong the portion limits is highly unacceptable,” Dr. Anbumani said.
K.V. Elangeeran, president of Cauvery Delta Farmers Federation, said the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act, passed successful 2020, prohibited drilling successful the region. “But the Centre was trying to hitch retired the Cauvery delta, the atom vessel of Tamil Nadu, by implementing the hydrocarbon project. If the task is implemented, oversea temperatures volition rise, damaging the environment,” helium said. Hydrocarbon exploration tin severely interaction groundwater and farmers successful Chidambaram, Kattumannarkovil, Kumaratchi, Kollidam, and Sirkazhi volition beryllium incapable to usage groundwater for farming, and agriculture volition collapse, Mr. Elangeeran added.
