NDA Govt signs the contracts for extraction of hydrocarbon from 31 areas of discovered small fields (DSF) across the country Monday March 27,2017

Even as the Union government had signed the contracts for extraction of hydrocarbon from 31 areas of discovered small fields (DSF) across the country, including the one at Neduvasal village in Pudukottai district, farmers’ representatives have expressed hope that the Centre and the State government would hold true to their assurance that the project would not be implemented against the wishes of the people.

“The contracts signed on Monday were for DSFs across the country. We expect the Centre and the State to stand by the assurances given to us,” said V. Senthil Dass, one of the members of a committee which spearheaded an agitation against the project recently.

Mr. Dass, who was part of the delegation from Neduvasal which met Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, said that the Minister had assured them that the project would not be implemented without the people’s consent. The committee will hold consultations and take appropriate decisions if there are attempts to implement the project, he warned.

A. Thirugnanam, another member of the committee, observed that although the proposal was announced earlier, it was only now that the government was signing the contracts. “We believe the assurance given by the Centre. The State government has also supported us. We hope the project will not be implemented here. We will protect our lands by all means,” he said.

Echoing his sentiment, N. Pothiyappan, coordinator of the Anti-hydrocarbon Movement in Vadakadu, said, “We have only withdrawn our struggle temporarily, and if attempts are made to implement it, there will be stiff resistance.”

Centre’s stand

The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in a press release issued after the signing of the contracts, pointed out that the Petroleum Minister, along with Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Pon. Radhakrishnan, had recently met the delegation from Neduvasal to hear their concerns about hydrocarbon exploration, adding that the Ministers had assured them that “the work on the field will start when the government of Tamil Nadu addresses the local concerns in consultation with the Central government.”