The Tamil Nadu All Farmers Association Coordination Committee has urged the State government to prevent the ONGC and Vedanta groups from going ahead with their proposal to execute hydrocarbon exploration projects in delta districts.
Addressing the media at Mannargudi on Wednesday, its chairman P.R.Pandian said the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan had stated in the Parliament that the government would not do anything forcefully when the DMK MP T.R.Baalu criticised the Centre over the issue of drilling in the delta region.
As the DMK MP had said that the delta region gets only 0.6 % of the total oil produced by the Tamil Nadu and above all this exercise had no socio-economic or financial returns, Mr.Pradhan had invited DMK members for a transparent discussion and assured nothing forcible would be done.
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The ONGC and Vedanta groups to whom the Union Government had granted permission to sink oil wells have started acquiring lands and were moving machines to sink wells, Mr.Pandian claimed.
They have started stacking pipes and other materials for sinking wells at several hamlets in the delta districts, he alleged.
Since farmers were under the grip of fear of losing their very livelihood, the government should come forward to stop these companies from going ahead with their project, he said.
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Stating that a petition urging the Union Government to drop the hydrocarbon project had been submitted at the office of the Prime Minister and met the MPs elected from Tamil Nadu to raise the issue on the floor, the chairman said it had been proposed to observe fast in front of the Parliament on July 25 and a demonstration on July 26.