ONGC gets nod for exploration wells, TN asks green body to revoke consent

A few hours after reports emerged that the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has granted environmental clearance to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) for drilling 20 onshore exploratory wells in Ramanathapuram district,

- SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA @ Chennai

Tamil Nadu Environment and Climate Change Minister Thangam Thennarasu said the state has advised the SEIAA to revoke the clearance accorded to the ONGC.

In a statement issued on Sunday evening, Thennarasu said the government "would not allow any project relating to hydrocarbon in any part of the state, either now or in the future". The statement also said that "it has come to the notice" of the state government that the SEIAA had "directly" granted the clearance.

The clearance, issued on March 11, allows ONGC to explore a designated block spread across 1,403 sqkm in the Ramnad sub-basin. Each well is expected to be drilled to depths of 2,000-3,000 metres, with operations lasting up to four months. Though the environmental clearance is granted, the ONGC can commence the work only after obtaining Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) from the state industries department, for which an application has already been filed and is pending for approval, sources told the TNIE.