The Madras High Court has ordered the Central Ground Water Board to conduct a scientific study on the groundwater in Erode area of Tamil Nadu within two months. It has also directed the Tamil Nadu state Pollution Control Board to take appropriate action depending on the findings. The decision was given in response to a petition filed about leakage in the petroleum storage tanks of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited in Erode, which was led to groundwater contamination. The petition was filed by S Jayalakshmi, proprietor of Sree Lakshmi Ice and Cold Storage. An analysis of water revealed an oily smell. In July 1999, the revenue officials and fire service officers tested the water and found that it burnt like petrol.