Chennai, Nov 7 (PTI) Political parties in Tamil Nadu demanded the state government to reject the ONGC's proposal for setting up hydrocarbon exploration wells at 20 places in the coastal Ramanathapuram district.

The ruling DMK should refuse the permission sought by the ONGC from the Tamil Nadu Environment Impact Assessment Authority, as the move would affect the groundwater and large agricultural land, said AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami.

During his rule in the state, he declared the Cauvery Delta districts as protected agricultural zones so that Tamil Nadu is never affected by such toxic projects.

'Considering the welfare of the people, I insist that the permission should be refused. @AIADMKOfficial,' Palaniswami said in a post on the social media platform 'X'.

Opposing the project, PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss said the move would convert the district into a desert. Hydrocarbons would be extracted from a depth of 3,000 feet and the extraction technology will result in earthquakes, he claimed.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Katchi founder Vaiko and Tamil Maanila Congress founder G K Vasan, too, opposed the project and said the farmers' interests and their welfare should be upheld. PTI JSP KH