Scrap government order on petro investment region, demands MDMK leader Vaiko 

“The state government passed a GO in July 2017 for setting up Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIR) in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts.

If the state government is really concerned about making Cauvery Delta a protected agriculture zone the state should repeal the GO,” said Vaiko, in a statement. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday announced that Cauvery Delta will be made an agriculture protected zone and hydrocarbon extraction will not be allowed in the entire Delta region. The announcement is a direct contradiction to the Centre’s stand of making Cauvery Delta a hub for hydrocarbon extraction. While the farmers and political parties, including the opposition, welcomed the announcement of Chief Minister, Vaiko demanded the state to implement the decision on letter and spirit. “In the GO, state announced that PCPIR would cover 57,500 acres in 45 villages falling under the Cauvery Delta region. If the entire Delta region should be made a protected zone no petroleum industry should be setup in the zone,” said Vaiko.He further demanded the state government to make the announcement as a law for effective implementation and the decision should not go as a mere announcement like the decision taken on NEET. It may be noted that a petroleum company has decided to setup its refinery plant in Cuddalore at an estimated cost of Rs 50,000 crore recently.