Will not allow any project that affects TN: State govt

With the Centre awarding oil and gas exploration contracts to Vedanta and ONGC reportedly in blocks of Tamil Nadu, the state government Tuesday said it would not allow any project "affecting" the citizens, while opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) announced a protest against the "fascist" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Of the oil and gas exploration areas awarded under India's maiden open acreage auction, mining mogul Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Limited has bagged 41 of the 55 blocks offered in OALP-1.

The firm is at the centre of a row in Tamil Nadu, following the closure of its Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin over environmental concerns, even as 13 anti-Sterlite protesters were killed in police firing in that town on May 22 and 23.

Vedanta Limited has reportedly won contracts for two Cauvery offshore blocks, while State-run ONGC has bagged one in Cuddalore district.

Tamil Nadu has also witnessed protests by farmers, citizens and political parties against hydrocarbon