AIADMK, DMK engaged in debate over Cauvery delta’s status as protected zone

The AIADMK has got into a debate with the DMK over the status of the Cauvery delta as a protected zone in the light of a reply by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change in the Lok Sabha early this week.

To a question, by R. Sudha of the Congress (who represents Mayiladuthurai), whether there was any Central policy to declare the delta districts a protected zone and ban oil and gas exploration projects in view of the districts being declared as a special agricultural zone by the State government, Union Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh had replied that certain areas were notified as Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ)/Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA) under provisions of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, based on proposals from States.

“There is no such proposal received by the Ministry from the Tamil Nadu government,” Mr. Singh said. This prompted Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, of the DMK, to recall a reply given in February 2021 by the then Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, to a question by her colleague M. Shamugam. Mr. Tomar had referred to the enactment of the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act, 2020, as a sequel to the State government’s announcement of converting Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and parts of Pudukottai and Cuddalore districts into a protected special agriculture zone. Till May 2021, the AIADMK was in power in the State.

Ms. Kanimozhi pointed out on social media that the Centre, which accepted in 2021 the State government’s announcement of the agricultural zone, was now stating that no proposal had come from the State. “Why this double standard?” she asked.

Reacting to this, AIADMK advocates’ wing secretary I.S. Inbadurai said Ms. Sudha’s question was about the declaration of the Cauvery delta as an ESZ/ESA. Besides, she had mentioned the Tamil Nadu government’s 2020 law, which, he pointed out, was enacted when Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the Chief Minister. Contending that the classification of protected special agricultural zones under an exclusive law was on “stronger grounds” compared with the ESZ or ESA, he questioned, “When there is a separate law, what is the need for calling it an ESZ/ESA?”

He recounts that in February 2020, the then Fisheries Minister, D. Jayakumar, called on Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar in Delhi and handed over a letter explaining the State government’s decision. Only then did the then Governor, Banwarilal Purohit, give assent to the Bill, he added.

To a query whether applications seeking no-objection certificate (NOC) or environmental clearance (EC) for hydrocarbon or gas exploration projects were received in the last five years, the Union Minister of State replied in the Lok Sabha that no fresh ECs had been given, especially for Mayiladuthurai and Thanjavur districts. Three proposals had been pending with the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, of which one came from ONGC (for Ramanathapuram district) and two from Vedanta (for Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Villupuram of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal of Puducherry).

Published - November 28, 2024 12:17 am IST