Kariangala, Ammunje villagers refuse to cooperate with GAIL pipeline project

Kariangala, Ammunje villagers refuse to cooperate with GAIL pipeline project

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 4, 2011 : Around 32 families of Kariangala and Ammunje have declared that they will not cooperate with the proposed Kochi – Kootanad – Bangalore – Mangalore Natural Gas Pipeline Project of the Gas Authority of India (GAIL), which is to pass through these villages.

GAIL had organized a public hearing chaired by Suryanarayana, its project assistant commissioner, on Thursday, at which the families declared in no uncertain terms that they will not provide their land for the purpose. The villagers were of the opinion that the pipeline can be laid on the sea bed instead of cutting through their fertile agricultural land.

GAIL sources say that the pipeline is scheduled to be commissioned by March 2013 and is designed to carry a volume of gas 16 million standard cubic meters per day with a diameter of 24 inches. The pipeline will be placed at a depth of 1.2m below ground level and the normal width of right of user in the land is 20m along the pipeline route.

The villagers stated that, although their land will be returned to them once the pipeline is laid, they will not be able to plant saplings and build structures over it. Most of the villagers have only 3 – 5 cents of land. P. K. Mohammed, one of the villagers, wanted to know where the family should go if 20mts is taken away from his 3 – 5 cents of land.

When villagers wanted to know if the name of GAIL will appear in the RTC, Murali Manohar, the DGM of GAIL, said that the villagers will remain the owners of their land. However, when he confirmed that the 11th column of the RTC will contain the name of the company, the villagers were furious because this would mean that GAIL would share the land ownership with the families. Abubakkar said that even if the villagers wished to sell their land, they would have to seek GAIL’s permission to do so.

When the villagers demanded an LPG terminal in Panambur because the major consumer of gas will be MCF, the DGM said that the pipeline will have to be extended according to the demands for gas. However, he had no reply when the villagers wanted to know if any survey had been done to ascertain their demand, as per which GAIL had decided to lay a pipeline along this route.

When the villagers wanted to know if the company had got an environment clearance certificate and a no objection certificate from the Pollution Control Board, the DGM replied that these certificates are not required and that the company will receive an approval from the KSPCB soon. Enraged villagers then wanted to know why such public hearings were held in the first place when the company has not yet received the basic clearance for these projects.