GAIL's pipeline project gets Madras HC nod

TN govt had, earlier this year, halted the project which connects Kerala- Karnataka via TN after farmers protested in southern districts of Tamil Nadu

The Gas Authority of India (GAIL) today got relief, as the Madras High Court gave its nod for GAIL's pipeline project in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government, early this March had halted the project, which connects Kerala-Karnataka via Tamil Nadu, after farmers protested in southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
 
Today's order was passed by the First Bench of the Madras High Court, consisting of Chief Justice RK Agrawal and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, on a petition filed by GAIL. In its petition, the public sector company had pleaded that the Court to put a stay on Tamil Nadu government's order to stall company's Rs 5,000 crore project.

Meanwhile, M Easan, the counsel representing 20 farmers who were also involved in the litigation, said that the order did not cover several factual reports. He added that there were a lot of omissions in the order with regards to the concerns of the farmers. “We will definitely go for an appeal against the order,” he said.
 
While passing the Order, the Bench observed that gas is an alternate source of fuel and public interest should be considered. The Court also asked the state government to handle the matter in such a way that it would not create any law and order issue. The Court even said it should be handled the way the government took steps in keeping law and order in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) issue.
 
Additional Solicitor General P Wilson earlier argued that the project would benefit the entire state of Tamil Nadu and meet the demand for gas and hence, must be allowed, keeping in mind the larger public interest of the state.
 
GAIL's spokesperson said, “We honour the decision by the High Court. We would be looking for the blessings of the government of Tamil Nadu and the people in the state, for the project. We are a government organisation and our mandate is working in tandem with the state government”.
 
He refused to comment on when the project will restart.
 
C Kanagaraj, government pleader representing the Union Government told reporters that GAIL had argued that the earlier Tamil Nadu government extended its full support and already around Rs 680 crore was invested, which was public money. 

"While works at several places were in completion stage, we cannot suddenly look for alternate routes (Tamil Nadu government recommended that GAIL should look at the option of taking the pipeline adjacent to the national highway),” said Kanagaraj. The Court accepted that argument and upheld state government's order and even directed the state administration to lend all the support to finish the project as soon as possible.
 
The project
The Kochi-Kuttanad-Bangalore-Mangalore gas pipeline project was supposed to pass through seven districts of Tamil Nadu, a distance of 310 km covering 134 villages, with an investment of around Rs 5,000 crore.
 
GAIL officials earlier said the issue was not only impacting GAIL ? its Rs 2,000 crore being stuck in the project ? but also Petronet LNG’s Kochi LNG terminal, for which GAIL was unable to complete the gas evacuation route.
 
Besides, industries in Tamil Nadu dependent on the gas, even the state government’s revenues (Tamil Nadu would get almost 4 mmscmd of gas) by way of taxes and levies would be hit. The power-deficit state stood to lose out on the fuel.
 
Background
In March 2013, after continued agitation by the farmers against GAIL's plan to lay pipelines on agricultural land, Tamil Nadu government decided not to allow GAIL to proceed with its pipeline project across seven districts of Tamil Nadu.
 
The Tamil Nadu chief minister told the State Assembly earlier that her government would not encourage projects affecting people's welfare and nobody would accept any justification that industrial growth should be attained at the cost of farmers. “My government is determined that projects are for people and not the other way around," she said. According to local sources, around 7,000 farmers were affected due to the project in seven districts.
 
GAIL had laid the initial 60/70-km stretch through farmer fields. But the state government had urged GAIL to run the pipeline adjacent to highways to avoid damage to agricultural lands.
 
However GAIL argued that this was unsafe and a cross-country natural gas pipeline passes through agricultural land for around 90 per cent of its length. The public sector company also noted that around 30,000 km of operational pipelines run under farmlands and of this, more than 10,000 kms were laid by GAIL in the last 25 years.
 
The company laid networks, in farmland, across the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka.
 
The Tamil Nadu government asked GAIL to restore the fields where trenches have been cut to its original condition, remove pipelines that have so far been laid in farmers’ fields and compensate farmers for their losses.
 
The company had also represented its case to the state government through a letter dated March 8, 2013. But it had not given strong technological reasons for not running the pipeline adjacent to highways, the state government had said.