NGT directs Tamil Nadu PCB to act against GAIL

NGT directs Tamil Nadu PCB to act against GAIL

Also orders the company not to lay the pipelines without obtaining the mandatory permissions

The Southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to take decisive action against the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) for operating a unit without obtaining the mandatory environmental clearance. The action must be taken for the violation, including assessing environmental compensation.

Earlier, the TNPCB had issued a show-cause notice to GAIL for operating a unit in the Meramathur village in Myladuthurai without its consent. The board found that GAIL had not obtained clearance for laying a pipeline for 0.255 km in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area.

The bench ordered GAIL not to operate and lay the pipeline from Madanam in Sirkazhi to the Memathur terminal without obtaining the necessary CRZ clearance and other mandatory permissions envisaged in the environmental law.

NGT directed the Tamil Nadu Coastal Zone Management Authority to act against GAIL for installing the pipelines in CRZ, violating the 2011 and 2019 notifications.