Threat of Cauvery Delta Hydrocarbon project bigger than political differences, says DMK

The DMK calls upon the state government to protect the ‘granary of the South’ and support the farmers through actions rather than words and reassurances.

Bhuvanesh Chandar and Parimal Dagdee

(Originally written in January 2020 as a part of the reporting module in ACJ)

In the wake of the Centre’s decision to allow oil and gas firms to carry out exploratory drilling without obtaining the necessary environmental clearances, the DMK party stepped up it’s protest against the hydrocarbon project and carried out demonstrations in Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai districts of Tamil Nadu earlier this week.

Subsequently, Chief Minister E. Palaniswami responded, through a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling upon him to reconsider the waiving of the environmental clearance for oil and gas exploration. The move also waives the necessity to hold public consultation meetings. However, the DMK criticised the lack of resistance offered by the state government and called upon the AIADMK to protect the interests of the farmers through actions rather than words and letters.

Reacting to the letter, V.P.Duraisamy, DMK MLA, said, “Writing letters by itself won’t solve any issues. The State government should be able to convince the Central government to not pass such an order.”

T.K.S Elangovan, MP, Organisational Secretary and Spokesperson of the DMK, said that despite being the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, the DMK would definitely support the state government in any concrete stand against the hydrocarbon project. “This is not a question of politics, this is about protecting the livelihood of lakhs of our people,” he said. Elangovan drew parallels between the anti-hydrocarbon movement and the pro-Jallikattu protests of 2017, as he said, “when so much is at stake, political and social differences must be left behind”.

Last week, villagers from across the state held Gram Sabha meetings to pass resolutions against Hydrocarbon and Neutrino projects.

The Hydrocarbon project, which was officially announced in February 2017 by the central government, aims to increase competitiveness in the hydrocarbon exploration and reduce India’s dependency on foreign imports for oil. The farmers of the Cauvery delta have argued that it is a short-sighted move which affects lakhs of citizens as the region is the most productive paddy producing belt in South-India. The farmers accuse the government of giving preference to the large industrialists and compromising on rural well-being in favour of commercial interests.

There are fears that the project, through which oil and methane gas is obtained, would cause irreversible damage to soil quality, ground water table, underground water resources and general fertility levels of the region, potentially making farming impossible in the foreseeable future.

“More than just an environmental issue, this is a matter of livelihood”, said Elangovan. Referring to the Cauvery delta as the ‘granary of the south’, he drew attention to the fact that industrial projects have never been carried out in the region and that the excavation process would undo decades of work put in towards protecting the fertility and increasing the output of the delta area.

A particularly contentious issue for the locals as well as the activists is that over the past few years, Gem laboratories and other involved companies have attempted to appease the villagers by promising to bring in ‘experts’ from across the globe to carry out tests to determine if the extraction protests would actually affect the soil quality and water levels.

Protestors have rejected the reassurances and demand that their views be taken into account. “In the case of rural areas, the individuals least informed are the experts,” said Nityanand Jayaram, a prominent Chennai based activist who has participated in the agitation movements since the Neduvasal project was announced.

Student activist Joshuva Matthews, a student activist who participated in anti-hydrocarbon protests in Tiruchirapalli, said, “Experts visit a piece of land once or twice before delivering their verdict. The government should consult the farmers who have lived there all their lives and know the land better than anyone else”.

Moreover, exploration digs, which are carried out to obtain estimates on ground water level and predict the depth of mining, are a hindrance to the agriculturists. The digging of a single exploration well renders the surrounding 5-10 acres land temporarily useless, while untoward by-products such as oil leakage can cause permanent damage to the soil.

With too much on stake, and with the recent move by the Central government, the pressure is on at the AIADMK government in their next move towards countering this issue.