SC asks TN, GAIL to maintain status quo on pipeline project

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Tamil Nadu government and GAIL to maintain status quo on the implementation of the Kochi-Kuttanad-Bangalore-Mangalore gas pipeline project, which is passing through farm lands in seven districts of the state.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, while seeking objections from GAIL and others, asked the parties to maintain status quo on the project passing through seven districts of Tamil Nadu, covering a distance of 310 km there, 505 km in Kerala and 85 km in Karnataka.

Both the farmers and the TN government have challenged the Madras High Court’s order that quashed its directive that put curbs on GAIL from implementing its project.

Reacting to Friday’s status quo order, a GAIL official said:?It’s not financially viable to lay the pipelines through the highway as there will be huge cost escalation and even technologically it is not feasible due to huge traffic rush that may result in damage to the pipelines.?

However, he refused to the total cost of the pipeline project and escalation figures if the project is diverted to the highways.

The HC order was passed after GAIL challenged the state government notification, asking it to stop placing pipelines in agricultural lands and implement the project by laying them along the national highways.

The issue is not only affecting GAIL, as its R2,000 crore are being stuck in the project, but also that of Petronet LNG?s Kochi LNG terminal.

Even Petronet LNG (PLL) has accused GAIL for the low capacity utilisation at its 5-mtpa Kochi terminal, which receives imported LNG from Qatar, as Gail has not been able to lay the pipeline in its entirety. The resolution of Tamil Nadu issue is vital for the entire country as such issues can creep up in other parts of the country as well, GAIL said earlier.

After public hearings, the government issued a notification on April 2 last year, stating that pipelines could be laid along the national highways without affecting the farm lands and to remove all pipelines laid in agricultural lands of farmers in the seven districts of Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.

However, GAIL argued in the apex court that this may not be possible as highways keep on widening from time to time.

Challenging the HC order, the TN government in its appeal before the apex court said that the present alignment of the project would affect the lives and livelihood of about 5500 small farmers.

It submitted that it had found alternative route of laying the gas pipelines after inviting objections from all the parties concerned.