Chennai: Tamil Nadu govt will not compromise on the livelihood of fishermen or marine ecology while considering a proposal to drill four new offshore hydrocarbon development wells near Parangipettai in Cuddalore district, forest and climate change minister V K Rajiv told state assembly on Tuesday.Replying to a calling-attention motion, Rajiv said the govt would study its impact on marine resources and ecology and take appropriate measures to safeguard fishermen’s interests.Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd (HOECL) has obtained the terms of reference for environmental impact assessment of the project from Union environment ministry and is pursuing drilling of four offshore development wells. The ministry forwarded the company’s application to Cuddalore district Coastal Zone Management Authority (DCZMA) on June 9 for approval. “It is under the consideration of DCZMA,” Rajiv said.Chidambaram MLA Thamim Ansari, one of the three legislators who moved the motion, said the previous DMK and AIADMK govts had taken a firm stand against allowing companies to drill new wells along the coast to protect fishermen’s livelihood. He urged the present govt to adopt a similar stand.DMK whip E V Velu questioned the rationale behind renaming the DMK govt’s flagship Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme as the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme. Defending the move, school education minister said the scheme had been expanded to cover more students and was therefore named after Kamarajar, who placed great emphasis on education. He said renaming schemes was not new and had been done by previous govts too.
