GEECL was yet to start any work, awaiting the Consent to Establish from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), when Tamil Nadu Government has set up an expert committee consisting of representatives from Anna University, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), besides also having officials of public works departments of agriculture and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd., along with the
awaited TNPCB. Mr. Prashant Modi, a key asset in leading GEECL to its status as a leader of vertically

integrated gas supply says that the amount of land needed is small at around 2 – 3 acres per well. Moreover, these lands will be procured at the prevailing market rates.
In fact, Mr. Prashant Modi added, “CBM extraction is done in most environment friendly manner and water that comes out is used by farmers in Raniganj for irrigation purpose.” Mr. Prashant Modi has cited examples where agriculture farming and gas extraction have co-existed, which were primarily in the US and Australia. Moreover a live example in India is also GEECL’s Raniganj block in West Bengal where it has drilled over 150 wells. Furthermore, ONGC has been producing oil and gas in and around the
Mannargudi region for several decades where agriculture has also going on in full swing and there is no negative effect whatsoever.

Mr. Prashant Modi also took this opportunity to remind the general public that GEECL had received clearance from the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests (MOEF) upon meeting the strict parameters and clearance from an Expert Appraisal Committee. Mr. Prashant Modi is amicability to this procedure, saying, "We welcome Tamil Nadu government's decision to set up an expert committee to go into the issue. We have no issues with that.”

Mr. Prashant Modi is associated with Great Eastern since 1996. He currently serves as the President and Chief Operating Officer at the leading Indian CBM (Coal Bed Methane) company.