CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urging the union government to reconsider the move offering a block of the Cauvery basin, which falls under the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve off the TN coast. The plan is to offer it to potential investors for hydrocarbon exploration and production as part of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bid Round-X.
The Directorate of Hydrocarbon, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, on February 11 offered 25 petroleum and natural gas blocks in various parts of the country to potential investors for hydrocarbon exploration and production. Incidentally, the Kerala Assembly on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution opposing the union government’s decision to permit offshore mining in the Kerala coast.
As per the notification, the Cauvery basin block falls under “Category I”, which refers to the sedimentary basin spread across various coasts in India with hydrocarbon reserves being already produced or exploited.
Stalin, in his letter, said deep-sea mining in the biosphere reserve may cause irreversible damage to marine habitats and degrade the overall health of the ocean, given the areas’ fragile ecosystem and rich biodiversity.
The CM said the risks of sediment plumes, toxic waste discharges and habitat destruction affecting the livelihood of the lakhs of fishermen who depend on the Gulf of Mannar could not be overstated.
Centre didn’t consult TN before notifying Cauvery basin block: Stalin
Notably, Stalin highlighted that the union government did not consult with the state government before notifying the block and called for the deletion of the notified biodiversity-rich areas from the OALP bid for deep-sea mining. “If due consultation had been done, we would have explained in detail all the issues highlighted above,” he said.
The Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, located near the Palk Bay and Wadge Bank, consists of a chain of 21 islands and adjoining coral reefs. Spread over 560 sq km off the coasts of the Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi districts, the biosphere reserve supports a wide variety of marine fauna.
The TN government, in September 2021, notified India’s first Conservation Reserve for the highly-endangered dugong (sea cow) in the Palk Bay, covering 448 sq km of coastal waters of Thanjavur and Pudukkottai districts.
The Directorate of Hydrocarbon, as part of the technical analysis of the blocks, said the Cauvery basin block had significant mesozoic-basement production and that it offered the potential to explore ultra deep in the north-east and southern part towards the Gulf of Mannar.