CHENNAI: An expert appraisal committee under the union environment ministry has recommended Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for the 20km petroleum pipeline from Ennore Port to Manali industrial area.
The pipeline will cut across Ennore creek, mangrove forest and sand dunes. The committee, while appraising the project in January meeting, had asked IMC Limited to submit an action plan for laying pipeline underneath the CRZ area apart from marine biodiversity plan including sand dune restoration in the pipeline’s route. The documents and additional information has been uploaded by the firm on the ministry’s portal.
As per the project proposal, the the pipeline will pass through Puzhuthivakkam, Ennore, Vallur, Athipattu, Kathivakkam, Eranvur, Manali, Tirvottiyur, Sathangadu and Sadayankuppam villages covering 20.39km.Of the total length, 10km falls in different CRZ areas - 308m will pass through CRZ-1B (an intertidal zone falling between high tide line and low tide line), 9.05km will pass through CRZ-2 (urban developed areas), 578m in CRZ-3 (related undisturbed places) and 76.13m in CRZ-4B (water spread area).
In its latest meeting on March 23, EAC said that though pipeline work is a permitted activity in the CRZ areas, construction will not be allowed during the turtle nesting season from January to April 30.However, local environmental activists said areas like Ennore and Manali have breached the tipping point in terms of industrialisation. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) recently invited Expression of Interest to study the carrying capacity of air, land, water and environment.
In 2013, there was an oil leak in the underground pipeline owned by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Tondiarpet. As a result, the groundwater got contaminated and the remediation work has been going on for the last six years. Environment minister Siva V Meyyanathan said the remediation is nearing completion. “In the meantime, as per the directions of the NGT, the ICMR has commenced health study to assess the health impact on the public living in the area.”