GAIL Pipeline Through Coimbatore Region

GAIL Pipeline Through Coimbatore Region

The Kochi-Kootanad-Bengaluru-Mangalore pipeline was an ambitious project initiated in 2007 by Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), a public sector undertaking, aimed at connecting the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to the national gas grid. GAIL and the Tamil Nadu government signed a formal Gas Cooperation Agreement in 2008. The project promised the common economic benefits of employment, development et al.

What stalled this project was that the pipelines, which have to pass through the region, would pass through the farmlands, where coconut, jackfruit, and mango were cultivated. GAIL submitted records in court, showing that over 91 per cent of the land to be acquired for the project were dry lands and less than 9 per cent were under cultivation. However irrational fears were whipped up by activists about how farm lands would be permanently destroyed in case of gas leakage etc led to widespread protests in the region.

https://swarajyamag.com/politics/large-scale-protests-are-the-new-thing-in-tamil-nadu

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