Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam, popularly known as the Cauvery Delta districts and the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu are all set to lose their lush green paddy fields which feed the State thanks to yet another mission by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), the country’s energy major, to drill 110 exploratory and development wells in this region. This time the ONGC has sought clearance from the Union Government to drill wells in Ramanathapuram district also, which has already become a barren stretch of land thanks to severe shortage of water.
The move by ONGC comes after its fiasco in Neduvasal, a village in Pudukottai district, which saw mass upsurge against the proposed shale gas extraction well. Environmental experts were unanimous in their view that had the ONGC gone ahead with the Neduvasal project, it would have definitely ruined the village.
Though, the ONGC claims, the latest move is to dig 110 wells for extracting 155 cubic meters of oil and 2.65 lakh cubic meter of natural gas per day, P Ananthanarayanan, a United Nations expert on climate change who has been designated as Clean Development Mechanism Assessor by the world body said that the real motive by the energy major is to extract shale gas and Coal Bed Methane (CBM) from the fertile Cauvery Delta region.
“There is no need for them to dig wells upto a depth of 4,000 meters if their intention is to exploit only oil and natural gas. Petroleum and natural gas could be extracted from a depth of 1,500 meters,” Ananthanarayanan told The Pioneer. He also made it clear that this is a project which Tamil Nadu could do without. The lush green paddy fields in the three districts would become a thing of the past if the ONGC goes ahead with their plan to extract shale gas,” he warned.
Farmers in the three districts are agitated over the new initiative by the ONGC. “We are not opposed to any kind of development activities which are beneficial to the nation. But we will oppose any move which would lead to the destruction of our precious farm lands,” said RV Giri, president, Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA), an umbrella organisation of various farmers’ collectives in the country.
Ananthanarayanan pointed out that though the ONGC has claimed that it would require only 25 cubic meters water per day per well, this was far from reality. “They are digging wells upto a depth of 4,000 meters. Each well of 1,000 meter depth itself would need 1,200 cubic meters water per day. One can imagine ho much wayter they have to pump into the 110 wells each of 4,000 meters depth,” he said.
According to Giri, there was no need for such a project in Tamil Nadu. “let them dig the wells in barren lands or desert. But not in fertile land which feeds the nation”, he said.
Cauvery S Dhanapalan, another farmer leader said that Nagapattinam has already ruined by drought. “Any kind of drilling near paddy field would destroy the entire district. The memories of Neduvasal is still fresh in our minds,” said Dhanapalan.
Ananthanarayanan said the returns would be more in ecological and economical terms if the ONGC is denied the permission to dig wells in the delta districts.