Communist Party of India (Marxist - Leninist) - On the Methane Exploration Project in Tamil Nadu - P J James
▻http://www.cpiml.in/cms/index.php/articles/item/889-on-the-methane-exploration-project-in-tamil-nadu-p-j-james
Concrete and on the spot studies on the environmental effects ranging from exploration, drilling, storage and marketing of methane are very important. For instance, in addition to the hazardous impacts already mentioned, it is said that for every barrel of gas extracted, up to nine barrels of contaminated water will be produced from the project. Such water contains toxic benzene, polycyclic aromatics, heavy metals and radioactive material like dissolved uranium, radon and radium. Pipelines used for storing and transporting the produced water even after effluent treatments will be threatening to the people as such pipelines are often subject to corrosion and leakage. Recycling and reusing of such water will be seldom met as it will eat in to the margins of companies. One of the major drawbacks associated with Indian hydrocarbon projects has been the casual approach to waste water disposal. Improper handling of contaminated water alone will spoil all the surrounding ground and surface water and land area in the region.
It is very noteworthy that the toiling farmers and the people of Tamil Nadu in general could rise up against the super-imposed methane and PCPIR projects though they are not aware of the basics and track record of the hydrocarbon extraction projects in India and abroad. The struggling people of Neduvasal like areas in Tamil Nadu which are rich in ground water, fertile soil, and having a multi-crop agriculture can easily identify the ‘running with the rabbit and hunting with the hound’ tactics adopted by all the pro-corporate ruling class parties towards the methane and PCPIR projects. While the protestors are branded as “ignorant”, “anti-national”, “anti-development” and even “foreign-funded” by hydrocarbon lobby and corporate media, it is the solemn duty of all democratic and progressive sections to expose the corporate money-spinning process underlying hydrocarbon extraction today through a massive awareness drive among the people. While GEECL repeatedly claim in its website of having environmental clearance for the methane exploration, the statutory environmental public hearing required to be held under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, has never been held for the Neduvasal exploration project. Together with the building up of people’s resistance against the super-imposition of various hydrocarbon projects in the guise of development in Tamil Nadu, democratic forces should also utilize all legal avenues to expose and defeat the violation of even existing environmental regulations by corporate financiers.