Days after the Supreme Court dismissed the State government’s plea challenging the implementation of a Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) project in western Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday held a meeting with senior Ministers and officials and advised them to file a review petition before the apex court.
At the Secretariat, Ms. Jayalalithaa discussed with officials the points to be projected before the apex court, an official release said.
Senior Cabinet Ministers, Chief Secretary K. Gnanadesikan, advisor to the government Sheela Balakrishnan, Advocate General A.L. Somayaji, and Additional Chief Secretary in the Industries Department C.V. Sankar were present at the meeting.
The State government had argued that the pipelines in the GAIL project would affect the livelihood of 5,500 small farmers in seven districts of the State, but the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the government’s objections as merely “populist”.
The State government contended that national interest should not be at the cost of the livelihood of poor farmers.
