Govt offers assurance of jobs and protection of environment, people say these promises have never been kept in the past
Published Dec 21, 2024 | 8:19 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 21, 2024 | 1:00 PM
All-party meeting in Ennore.
The proposed expansion of the Ennore Thermal Power Plant has run into troubled waters with residents and political representatives opposing the plan.
An all-party public meeting held at Ennore on Friday, 20 December, witnessed vehement opposition to the expansion plan. Officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the district collector of Chennai also attended to oversee the proceedings.
The expansion plan has triggered concerns over its impact on the environment and adverse social repercussions.
Although the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), which established the plant – the Ennore plant is one of four major power plants TANGEDGO set up – has been attempting to persuade people that the project would offer job opportunities, residents doubt these assurances since local people have not benefited from such projects in the past.
TANGEDCO is seeking environmental clearance for the expansion of the Ennore Thermal Power Plant by 660 MW. The clearance granted earlier has now expired.
The proposed plant will add to the already heavily industrialised Ennore-Manali region, which hosts multiple power plants, factories, ports, and chemical industries.
Leaders of 14 political parties and people’s organisations released a statement saying that there are more than 40 industries, including two thermal power plants, three ports, oil refineries, petrochemical industries, cement factories and other such units functioning at present in a 20-km radius.
The area is also densely populated, with over 10 lakh residents. Already, fishing communities have found it hard to eke a livelihood in the area on account of high pollution affecting marine life.
Since the Ennore plant first began operations in the 1970s, there has been environmental degradation – besides contamination of water, air quality has steeply declined.
Thermal power plants, with harmful emissions and ash, impact agriculture and fisheries.
Local people said the environmental impact assessment is being conducted on the basis of a five-year-old environment impact report, which is already outdated and does not record the worsening of conditions in the past few years.
The Tamil Nadu government outlined the details of the proposed expansion of the Ennore Thermal Power Station (ETPS), seeking the addition of one unit that will generate 660 MW.
The project is valued at ₹6,380 crore. It will use 84 acres of vacant land owned by TANGEDCO at Ennore, and no further land acquisition is required.
Key project specifications:
Capacity: 1×660 MW
Location: Ennore Thermal Power Station, Tamil Nadu
Fuel Requirement: Import of two million tonnes of coal per annum via pipeline from Ennore Port
Water Usage: 12,000 cubic meters per hour for cooling, sourced from the sea through pipelines
Environmental Approvals: The project has received several critical approvals, including environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests on December 11, 2019.
Additionally, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued a consent to establish (CTE) for the project, and the Civil Aviation Authority has cleared the construction of a 275-metre tunnel.
#NTKAgainstETPS#ScrapETPS pic.twitter.com/edn3gbVaCv
— 🇰🇬தமிழன் அருண்🇰🇬 (@arunvictoriya) December 20, 2024
The government states that the project has been assessed for environmental impact, and the results indicate that the air quality levels are within the permissible limits set by the National Ambient Air Quality standards.
Key air pollutants like particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone were all found within acceptable limits.
However, some groundwater samples from Ennore and Vallur villages showed elevated levels of total sediments and hardness.
Noise levels in the region, monitored at various locations around the power station, were within the limits prescribed by the Noise Pollution Control Rules of 2000, with daytime levels ranging from 49.8 to 62.4 decibels across different areas.
The cooling water used in the plant will be sourced from the sea and returned after cooling, ensuring minimal impact on marine ecosystems.
Wastewater will undergo treatment at a central treatment facility before being reused, while solid waste, including fly ash, will be handled with high-efficiency methods to reduce environmental impact.
To address air pollution, the project includes the installation of high-efficiency electrostatic precipitators (ESP) and flue gas desulfurisation devices (FGD), along with a 275-meter high chimney to disperse emissions.
Extensive greening and afforestation programmes are planned to mitigate environmental impact.
According to the government, the project will generate significant employment opportunities, particularly in construction and operational roles; that will help address local unemployment rates.
No major resettlement or relocation issues are anticipated, and the overall socioeconomic impact is considered positive for the region.
A substantial Rs977 crore will be allocated to pollution control measures, including investment in air and water pollution management, green space development, and other environmental protection initiatives.
Representatives of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) and the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) strongly opposed the project, speaking on behalf of the people of Ernavur.
They argued that the government’s assurances of job creation were nothing but a facade. Speakers warned at the public hearing that the expansion would lead to further debt cycles, with minimal job opportunities. The proposal, they pointed out, merely mentioned the possibility of job opportunities, no concrete guarantees were offered.
Tensions flared when organisers instructed speakers to refrain from making political remarks and focus instead on the issue at hand — the expansion project and its impact on Vadachennai.
This led to a heated exchange, as many felt that the political nature of the issue could not be separated from the broader context of the region’s long-standing grievances. Industrial projects in the area have had adverse effects on local communities.
Saravanan, one of the speakers representing the people of Ennore, painted a grim picture of the area’s environmental decline.
Once-clean water bodies, he said, had turned into oil-contaminated lakes. Saravanan warned that the new expansion would only worsen the already dire situation.
Subramani, another speaker, urged the community to consider alternative energy sources, such as solar power, instead of continuing to build energy plants that only contribute to environmental degradation.
He said that despite the presence of multiple factories and companies in the region, local job opportunities had remained scarce. Existing factories, he said, had done little to alleviate the economic hardship of the people of Vadachennai.
The health implications of the project were also highlighted, with speakers emphasising the increasing prevalence of respiratory diseases due to the toxic gases emitted by industrial plants.
Seeman, a prominent political figure, criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s repeated claims of fostering growth and job opportunities through industrial projects, arguing that these claims had not translated into tangible benefits for local people.
Seeman also drew attention to the rising health problems among children, attributing their immune system issues to the lack of nutritious food.
He said that pollution from large industrial projects, such as the proposed thermal power plant, was directly responsible for the deteriorating health of the local population.
Prabhakaran, a representative of NGO Poovulagin Nanbaragal, raised concerns about the logistics behind the expansion project.
He accused the authorities of manipulating data to sway public opinion in favor of the project. Prabhakaran said the project would have catastrophic health consequences for the community and long-term environmental damage.
Speakers recounted that the area was once home to a large fishing community that was self-sustaining and relatively healthy; now, residents struggle with new challenges.
The descendants of fishermen now work as rickshaw drivers and factory labourers, with a quality of life that is far poorer than their fishermen ancestors.
The promise of jobs, speakers said, was not sufficient – there is need for a proper assessment of the quality of those jobs. Industrial projects have failed to deliver on their promises of improving living conditions.
Nityanand Jayaraman, an environmentalist, said the public hearing was a joke – the district collector left midway, leaving the event without a chair.
The public meeting highlighted the growing frustration of the residents of Ennore, Ernavur, and Vadachennai, who feel betrayed by the government that offers false assurances of economic development and job creation.
With strong opposition from local residents and political parties, the future of the thermal project expansion hangs in the balance.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas).
