 "Stalin")
Citing environmental concerns, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday once again urged the Centre to drop the proposal to set up the India Based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Theni district in the state.
Chief Minister M K Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recalling he had submitted a memorandum in June 2021 where he had made a specific request to the Government of India to drop the proposal of setting up the particle physics observatory at Pottipuram village in Theni district of TN.
"This request was made in the larger interest of conservation of the rich wildlife and biodiversity of the region, as the project would cause irreversible damage to the fragile and sensitive ecosystem," Stalin said.
The site which is being proposed for the Neutrino project falls within the Mathikettan Periyar Tiger Corridor as mapped by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The corridor has the critical function of maintaining the genetic flow, which will be destroyed due to project activities, he said.
Quoting from the Tamil Nadu State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), the chief minister said tunnelling work involves carrying out blasting in the hard and composite rock mass and requires a huge quantity of high strength explosives to break it. Further, the tunnelling work involves the excavation of 6 lakh cubic metres of Charnockite rock from the mountain.
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The tunnel and cavern will be at a depth of 1,000 metres from the top of the mountain. At this depth, mountain rock would be under "tremendous pressure and the vertical stress is expected to be greater than 270 kg per sq.m."
This will create problems like rock bust and roof collapse. The proposals will have to be scrutinised using geotechnical studies for safeguards, Stalin told Modi.
"The proposed project is located about 4.9 km from Mathikettan Shola National Park. The project site also falls within the Bodi Hills West Reserve Forest, which lies in the Southern Western Ghats. The Western Ghats is considered as a global biodiversity hotspot harbouring numerous endemic species of flora and fauna."
"This area also links ecologically to the eastern habitats where Srivilliputhur Meghamalai Tiger Reserve is located and hosts tigers from the region and assists in genetic dispersal across the Western Ghats and their South-Eastern projections through the Cumbam Valley. Along with tigers, its co-predators, several other species of mammals including the ungulates, reptiles and amphibians move around the slopes of these hills," he said.
The area also forms a significant watershed and water catchment for Sambal and Kottakudi rivers.
"Small streams on the west side of Bodi hills join the Kottakudi river which joins the Periyar river before draining into the Vaigai dam. This watershed is the lifeline of the local communities as it supports their livelihood and provides water for drinking and agricultural needs for five districts of Tamil Nadu," he said.
A state ministerial delegation had in September last year met Union Minister for Industries and Commerce, Piyush Goyal and requested him to drop the project considering the serious repercussions that can be caused by it, the Chief Minister recalled.
"Therefore, I once again request you to kindly intervene in this matter and advise the authorities concerned to drop the Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project in Tamil Nadu," he urged Modi.
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