Chennai: After meeting the chief minister, the people of Neduvasal may withdraw their protest, which entered its 14th day Wednesday, against a proposed hydrocarbon project.
They were given as assurance by CM Edappadi K. Palanisami that the state government has not given permission for the project.
Receiving a delegation of protesters from Neduvasal village in Pudukottai district at the Secretariat here, Mr Palanisami told them that TN would never grant permission to any project affecting people.
“Hon’ble Amma never allowed projects like methane extraction as she thought it would be detrimental to the people and this govt will also follow her footsteps and ensure that no permission for hydrocarbon is given,” Mr Palanisami said.
Contending that the state government has not granted a licence to commercially extract natural gas at Neduvasal, Palanisami asked people in and around the village not to panic.
“Please accept the government’s resolution on this and give up the protest,” Palanisami said in a statement. Responding to the statement and assurance from the CM, the protesters said they would consult with the villagers and “come out with good news soon.”
“The Chief Minister told us very clearly that the state government has no plans to allow any such projects in Tamil Nadu and that no permission has been given so far. We are very much satisfied with the meeting and we will come back to him after consulting our villagers,” Dakshinamoorthy, part of the five-member committee, told Deccan Chronicle.
The delegation would reach Pudukottai on Thursday and hold a consultation with the villagers and brief them about the assurances given by the CM.
Dakshinamoorthy said he was hopeful that people would agree after assurances have come from the top brass of the government. “But a decision will be taken only after consulting the people who have been protesting for the past two weeks,” he said.
Palaniswami also told the representatives that he had taken up the matter with Modi during their meeting on Monday. The representatives told the chief minister that agriculture had been affected in their village due to an inadequate supply of Cauvery water and expressed fear that the hydrocarbon scheme would add to their woes.
