Consider farmers' plight, TN government tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The state on Monday urged the Supreme Court to consider the plight of over 5,000 farmers whose livelihood will be affected and sought review of the order directing implementation of Gail project.

In its petition filed by state counsel B. Balaji, TN faulted the February 2 order and said the court has failed to appreciate that the issue raised by Gail cannot be termed a mere law and order problem.

The state, being responsible for the welfare of the people, has to take into account the apprehension raised by the farmers and must make them to agree for a reasonable solution and that no project can ever be executed by the state government through police operations, thereby alienating the entire local population.

The petition said the apex Court did not appreciate that the state was concerned about the welfare of the poor farmers who do not have a voice and who are incapacitated from effectively representing their case before the GAIL.

The so called public hearing which was organized by GAIL was only a farce and only after the Madras High Court directed the State Government to hold a public hearing were the farmers in a position to express their grievances.

These grievances cannot be ignored and it is the responsibility of GAIL to ensure that the pipelines are laid without affecting the livelihood of farmers and definitely not at the cost of poor farmers who will lose their cultivable lands and their only means of livelihood.

The State said re-alignment of gas pipeline along National Highways is possible which will cause least displacement for agricultural activities. Since laying down pipelines below roads is more expensive than laying down pipelines under the fields GAIL does not want to conceive and consider this proposal.

The Respondent No.1 is not acting as a responsible state authority which it is obliged to. AS a result GAIL is purely acting as a commercial entrepreneur which is least bothered about the miseries of the farmers. It is being driven purely by profit motive and is not considering the change of alignment along roads only because of the cost factor.

It said the apex court has failed to appreciate that GAIL had not followed the due procedure while acquiring Right of User. More than 85% of the landowners were not served notice and landowners were not furnished with a sketch of the alignment of the proposed pipeline / brief description of the land.

The proposed GAIL pipeline is passing through permanent structures, houses, poultry sheds, educational institutions etc. State is giving a chart showing the residential houses numbering 758 and other permanent structures.

The State said it had constituted a High power committee in December last to consider the feasibility of the alignment along national highways and it is yet to give its final report. In these circumstances the State prayed for review of the order and to permit the Tamil Nadu government to address oral arguments instead of disposal of the review petition in Judges’ chamber.