The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to go ahead with the proceedings initiated against GAIL Limited on the show cause issued to the company for operating a unit in Memathur Village in Mayiladuthurai without the consent of the TNPCB and for not obtaining a clearance for laying a pipeline for 0.255 km in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area.
While the unit had applied for Consent to Operate, the application was returned for want of CRZ clearance from the competent authority. The application submitted by the company for CRZ clearance was also rejected by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The bench directed GAIL to not lay the pipeline from Madanam in Sirkazhi taluk to their Memathur terminal without obtaining the necessary CRZ clearance and other permissions required under the environmental laws.
The bench also directed the TNPCB to take appropriate action against the company for the violation, including the assessment of environmental compensation for the already committed violations and to consider other aspects of the pollution caused, if any, on account of the incident in 2020, when there was leakage of mud, water and heavy dust during the cleaning process.
The Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority was also directed to take appropriate action against GAIL for laying the pipeline in violation of the CRZ Notification, 2011 and 2019, including the imposition of environmental compensation apart from other actions under environmental laws.
