Chennai: “The seizure of lands for setting up a new SIPCOT complex in Cuddalore district and for the expansion of NLC’s mines is condemnable,” said PMK leader Anbumani.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said, “The government has issued a notification to acquire an additional 164 acres of land in the Thiagavalli and Kudikadu areas, in addition to the already notified 1,097 acres, for setting up a new SIPCOT complex in Cuddalore district.
When the entire Cuddalore district has already been affected by land acquisition and environmental damage, it is condemnable to keep imposing SIPCOT complexes and coal mines again and again, and to seize lands.
A SIPCOT complex is already operating in Cuddalore, the district headquarters of Cuddalore district, over an area of 2,625 acres. The DMK government, which decided to set up another SIPCOT complex on 1,119 acres in the nearby Kudikadu and Thiyagavalli areas, issued a government order on October 28 last year to acquire 1,097 acres of agricultural land in those areas.
While the local people have been staging continuous protests against it, the Tamil Nadu government has now issued a notification on the first of this month to acquire a total of 164.20 acres of land in the villages of Kudikadu and Thiyavalli.
All of these lands were taken away from the public and farmers in the past by two private large corporations at low prices. As the public has been insisting that those lands be returned to them, it is unacceptable for the government itself to be eager to seize them.
Although 75% of the land acquired through the new notification belongs to large corporations, the DMK government has confirmed that a new SIPCOT complex will be set up over a total area of 1,283 acres, including the already notified 1,119 acres and the newly notified 164.20 acres.
Tamil Nadu’s largest SIPCOT complex is located in Oragadam, covering 3,157 acres. The second-largest SIPCOT is in Cheyyar, spanning 2,937 acres. Next to these, Tamil Nadu’s third-largest SIPCOT is in Cuddalore, covering 2,625 acres.
Moreover, if a new SIPCOT is established on 1,283 acres, Tamil Nadu’s largest SIPCOT complex, spread over 3,968 acres, will operate in Cuddalore. This is not development for Cuddalore district, but rather a disaster. Cuddalore does not need this.
Similarly, the Tamil Nadu government’s notification states that for the expansion of NLC’s Mine 1, 68 parcels of land covering 12.60 acres in Gangaikondan village, and for the expansion of Mine 1A, 77 parcels of land covering 3.21 acres in Vanathirayapuram village, will be acquired.
These are all residential plots. If they are acquired, more than a hundred families could be left without a place to live.
Unprocessed waste discharged from the chemical plants in the Cuddalore SIPCOT complex is polluting the land, water, and air.
Because industrial waste has mixed into both the water and the soil, the breast milk of women in Cuddalore district and the tender coconut water produced there contain high levels of dioxin, a cancer-causing toxic substance.
On the other hand, the NLC coal mines in Cuddalore district have affected all 30 lakh people in Cuddalore district in one way or another. In such a situation, if a new SIPCOT complex is set up on another 1,283 acres, the entire Cuddalore district will turn into a toxic wasteland.
Moreover, the establishment of the SIPCOT complex is depriving farmers and the general public of their livelihoods. The farmlands in areas including Kudikadu and Thiyagavalli are highly fertile. They generate an income of up to Rs. 10 lakh per year.
However, in some places, a basic guideline value of Rs. 3.31 lakh per acre has been fixed, and compensation is calculated on that basis.
Although the Tamil Nadu government says that compensation is being paid at about 3 to 4 times the guideline value, the truth is that the amount paid as compensation is not even one-third of the market value of the area.
Beyond that, the only source of livelihood for the people in the Kudikadu and Thyagavalli areas is agriculture. By taking away these lands at a low price, the government is plundering the people’s entire livelihood. As a result, the people who lose their land will end up becoming laborers in their own homeland.
During the previous DMK regime, the then Chief Minister spoke bravely, saying that if land were to be acquired to set up coal mines in the Cauvery irrigation districts or a tungsten mine in the Madurai region, he would not hesitate to resign to stop it. But if the people of Cuddalore district were to have their land taken away, he would remain silent and keep his mouth shut.
The current Chief Minister, on the other hand, would abandon the airport project itself for the people of Parandur; but without understanding the sentiments of the people of Cuddalore district, he keeps ordering land acquisition again and again.
Looking at all this, the people of Tamil Nadu are wondering: is what is happening in Tamil Nadu a TVK government, or an extension of the DMK regime? The truth is that even though the government has changed in Tamil Nadu, the scene has not changed.
The Tamil Nadu government must immediately abandon the plan to set up a new SIPCOT in Cuddalore district, the NLC Mine 1 and 1A expansion projects, and the notifications for acquiring a total of 1,277 acres of land for them. Otherwise, I warn that the Pattali Makkal Katchi will mobilize the affected people and stage a massive protest,’ he said.
