Tamil Nadu Oil Spill Strategy

The Tamil Nadu government unveiled a comprehensive strategy to deal with future oil spills in January 2024, after an oil leak in Ennore, Thiruvallur district. The objective of this strategy is to reduce environmental harm by concentrating on four coastal zones that are most vulnerable to oil spills.

State Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan for Tamil Nadu

Identifying Risk Areas

• Ramanathapuram, Toothukudi, Gulf of Mannar islands, Thiruvallur, Kanniyakumari and Chennai have been marked as areas with a 'very high' risk.
• The plan identifies 15 areas of special concern with a prioritized response to an oil spill.

Custodians of Essential Environmental Regions

• The plan provides special protections to fragile ecosystems.
• This comprises the Gulf of Mannar, Toothukudi salt pans, beaches, Palk Bay,mangroves from Pudukkottai and Thanjavur, Vedaranyam and Muthupet lagoons, Tharangambadi and Velankanni beaches, PichavaramKalivili and Cheyyur lagoons urbanbeaches in Chennai.

Managing Response

• The Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority will deal with oil spills in association with District Collectors.

How to Clean Up Oil Spills

• Preparation and Prioritization: Teams will evaluate the spill and determine the areas that need to be cleaned immediately.
• Oil Sample Collection: Indian Coast Guard to collect samples to gauge the impact of spill
• Response Techniques: Methods are selected based on the shoreline type and oil volume
• Continuous Monitoring and Assessment: They will be constantly monitoring the clean-up.