Safeguarding the Cauvery delta region: Special Protected Agriculture Zone Declared by Tamil Nadu

Key Facts:-

1. Tamil Nadu's State Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has recognised farmer concerns about hydrocarbon exploration and announced that Tamil Nadu's 8 rice bowl district  will be recognized as Protected Special Agriculture Zone (PSAZ).

2. By This announcement TN's Cauvery Delta Region will also be covered by PSAZ.

3. The delta, which produces 33 lakh tonnes of grains in 28 lakh acres, has seen multiple protests for a decade over methane, hydrocarbon, oil and natural gas projects, which required acquisition of fertile lands and well drilling — proposals which triggered fears of groundwater contamination and many more problems.

4.Neduvasal in Pudukottai and Kadiramangalam in Thanjavur have been the main centres of many of these protests, led by agriculturists and backed by many mainstream political parties as well.

5. In July 2013, in response to sustained protests, then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa ordered suspension on coalbed methane exploration and production in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur and followed it up with a ban in 2015. But in 2017, the Centre signed contracts for hydrocarbon extraction from 31 areas of discovered small fields including from Neduvasal. Two years later it allowed Vedanta Limited to conduct tests for 274 hydrocarbon wells in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

6. Agricultural scientists such as M.S. Swaminathan have for long mooted such zones similar to special economic zones; Uttarakhand and Kerala have them. Tamil Nadu now has to enact legislation to protect a vast region, largely in the coastal area, from industries that would affect farming. The State has its challenges. 

7. In 2017, a government notification delineated 45 villages covering about 23,000 hectares in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts in the delta, as a Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region, with an eye on over ₹90,000 crore in investments. 

8.  Now the proposed PSAZ raises a question mark on this ambitious scheme. The government may have to brave central pressure and litigation from companies which pumped in money for exploration. The latest decision may have implications for the State’s investment climate, what with the closure of the Sterlite Copper plant still fresh in memory. But the intent to prioritise farmer interests and food security is beyond reproach.