Thanjavur: BJP national executive member L. Ganesan today brushed off the reports of widespread damage caused to the environment and the farmlands in the delta region due to the extraction of methane gas, using the hydraulic fracturing method. He said that the project was being executed based on Narendra Modi’s idea.

L. Ganesan was in Thanjavur to attend the diamond jubilee function of a school. While talking to the media, he said that hydraulic fracture was used based on the idea given by the prime minister. Several acres of land were wasted for digging in order to trace the coal mines in Neyveli. Modi suggested that drills be used instead, Ganesan said.

When asked about the protests from farmers whose lands were being made uncultivable due to the project, Ganesan said that the BJP was against destroying agricultural land, but was also particular that developmental projects be carried out with minimal damage.