TN wary of new regulations for drilling in Cauvery delta

TAMIL NADU HAS ASKED FOR THE PRACTICE OF PRIOR CLEARANCES FOR OFFSHORE AND ONSHORE OIL DRILLING TO BE CONTINUED, ESPECIALLY, IN THE CAUVERY DELTA

NEW DELHI: The Union environment ministry’s move to exempt offshore and onshore oil and gas exploratory drilling from environmental clearances has sparked concerns about its impact on the fragile Cauvery delta zone in Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery delta districts are known as the state’s rice bowl.

Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday requesting that the practice of prior environmental clearances and public consultations be continued before the approval of offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration, development and production projects, especially in the Cauvery delta.

The letter is with reference to a ministry of environment notification dated January 16 exempting these projects from such clearances and points out that it was issued without circulating a draft, denying stakeholders and state governments an opportunity to share their views.

“I would like to bring to your kind notice that projects involving exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons have faced strong resistance from farmers and activists and other stakeholders in Tamil Nadu…since most of these projects are situated in the Cauvery delta districts, which is ecologically a fragile zone but a very fertile region and rice bowl of the state, the opposition to these projects has been emotive and intense. Therefore, it is very essential to take the people and all stakeholders along while implementing these projects. The present notification goes against this spirit.”

The January 16 notification said the environment ministry has received references requesting for exemption from the requirement of prior environmental clearances under the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment notification 2006 for exploration drilling in respect of onshore and offshore exploratory drilling.

Environment secretary C K Mishra said seismic surveys are also being exempted from mandatory forest clearances to facilitate exploration. “This is drilling for exploration, not for the development of wells. A small hole is drilled to see if there are reserves. Only in 15 to 20% cases, exploration actually leads to reserves. Why do you need a complete environmental impact assessment for that? When you actually find oil it should be done. This will fast-track oil and gas exploration by at least a year. The petroleum ministry has been requesting this for some time now. It is not a polluting activity,” said Mishra. He added that “state governments give licenses to companies. State governments still have primacy.”

Centre for Policy Research researcher Kanchi Kohli said substantial exemptions from regulatory oversight and public hearings are best introduced only after deliberations with state governments, affected communities and all other interested parties. “Without that these come across as undemocratic, arbitrary and biased. Any such decision should also be accompanied by full disclosure of the nature of comments received and how they have considered prior to the decision being taken.” “There is potential for accidents even during exploration. When chemicals are released during an accident, a huge area of water is impacted. The environmental impact assessment helps assess such risks,”said Divya Karnad, marine biologist, assistant professor at Ashoka University.