Postpone public hearing for Ennore plant, govt urged

Twenty-one organisations and 600 people mostly children, youth and women from north Chennai have written to the TN Health Minister, Chennai District Collector and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), seeking postponement of the public hearing for Ennore Thermal Power Station (ETPS) Expansion Project until COVID third wave subsides.

A youth-led delegation of North Chennai residents, Chennai Climate Action Group and Save Ennore Creek campaign on Monday handed over the letter to the Chairperson, TNPCB. A separate letter signed by six doctors including Dr Nandini Kumar, Deputy Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (Retd), and Dr Vishvaja Sambath of Healthy Energy Initiative, was also sent to the authorities urging them to postpone the public hearing for the controversial project. The public hearing for the 660 MW ETPS Expansion is scheduled for January 6 in Ernavoor. The highly controversial and polluting project, which is to come up in an already over-polluted region, has triggered sharp criticism from the residents and political parties who have indicated that they will attend the hearing in large numbers and oppose the project.

“Considering the surge in COVID and the restrictions on public gatherings, it will not be possible for the local people to attend the public hearing, thereby robbing them of a statutory opportunity to participate in environmental decision-making concerning their lives,” the doctors wrote in the letter. They sought postponement of the public hearing until such time that it is safe for a larger congregation.