Jairam Ramesh Responds to Express Article on Moratorium Lift in Cuddalore

Responding to an Indian Express article titled, “TNPCB fudged data to push for moratorium lift in Cuddalore”, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said that moratorium was lifted solely based on an action plan submitted by the TNPCB. The express article was based on a report by the SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitors (SACEM) which claimed that TNPCB and CPCB had manipulated the data submitted to accelerate the lift of the moratorium. Mr. Ramesh says that the only formalities required for lifting the moratorium were to finalize the action plan and initiate its implementation and that pollution levels will not come down overnight. However, Shweta Narayan of SACEM claims that the purpose of a moratorium is ambiguous if it was not meant to exist until pollution levels come down remarkably. She also contends that the action plan by TNPCB is flawed and based on fudged data.