RAMANATHAPURAM
The public hearing convened by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) at Sayalkudi in the district on Thursday to seek public opinion about Indian Oil Corporation’s project of laying pipeline for conveying Regasified Natural Gas (RNG) from Ramanathapuram to Thoothukudi was ‘cancelled’ after villagers protested against the project.
District Revenue Officer S. Muthumari chaired the public hearing in the absence of Collector S. Natarajan, who was on an official visit to Delhi. But before the proceedings could start, the villagers raised objections to the project, leading to commotion and cancellation of the public hearing.
The public hearing had to be ‘called off’ as the situation turned volatile and threatened law and order problem, officials said.
Thangaraj, General Manager (Construction), IOC, was present to dispel the apprehensions of the people, but the villagers, including those from Thoothukudi, were in no mood to listen to him.
Residents of Valantharavai and Vazhuthur, led by village leaders G. Muniasamy, P.T. Raja, V.C. Kanagu Rajan, M.K. Moorthy and G. Soundararajan, objected to the project, alleging that they would be forced to leave their villages if the IOC was allowed to establish the gas compressor station at Valantharavai, they said.
They were already facing air, water and noise pollution from four gas-based power plants functioning in the area, they said.
Their villages received only scattered rainfall due to the presence of the power plants, when other parts of the district received good monsoon rains, they said.
When the majority of the people, who would be affected by the project lived in Valantharavai near here, why the TNPCB was organising the public hearing at Sayalkudi situated about 55 km away, they asked.
The public hearing was organised in a far off place with an ulterior motive of bringing ‘outsiders’ and getting consent for the project, they alleged.
A TNPCB official, however, said the proposed pipeline passed through 26 villages and Sayalkudi was chosen as it was the centre place. No decision was taken about the next public hearing, the official said.
