Naam Tamilar Katchi coordinator Seeman on Tuesday (Sept. 29) urged the Tamil Nadu government to fulfill the demands of the people of Meghamalai.
In this regard, Seeman said in a post on his X page:
The attempt to evict the people of 98 hill villages from their homes is tyranny! The Tamil Nadu government must fulfill the demands of the Meghamalai people, who are protesting in Kadamalai Kundu!
It is tyranny to try to evict more than 5,000 people who have lived for generations in 98 hill villages in the Meghamalai–Varusanadu regions of Theni district from their homes. The news that many of the people who were engaged in an ongoing sit-in protest in Kadamalai Kundu yesterday fainted while fighting to protect their land and livelihood is deeply distressing. Does it not trouble the rulers that people have been driven to protest in the scorching sun out of fear that they will lose their homes?
There is no disagreement that the forest must be protected. At the same time, without separately examining the housing, livelihoods, land documents, and legally enforceable rights of every family living there, how is it fair to call everyone, in one word, “encroachers”? Are the homes where people live, the land they work, and the schools where children study merely census records?
When fulfilling the responsibility of protecting forests, does the government also have the responsibility to protect people’s right to livelihood? Or not? Since this matter is under judicial review, it is the duty of the Tamil Nadu government to fully present the true situation of the hill village people and to use the legal remedies available to them. The TVK government should immediately conduct a legal review of the possibility of filing a review petition as demanded by the people.
Claims related to forest rights, patta, and other documents should be examined through a transparent inquiry, and decisions should be made after hearing the views of the affected families, in order to protect the habitats of indigenous people who have lived there since time immemorial. Threatening people to leave their homes and causing unnecessary disruption to daily transportation and basic necessities must be stopped immediately.
The government must ensure that those who fainted during the protest receive the necessary medical assistance, and that essential facilities such as drinking water, electricity, healthcare, and education are made available without interruption to the people of the hill villages. The government should also directly negotiate with the people involved in the protest and listen to their demands.
Therefore, I urge the Tamil Nadu government to immediately take the necessary legal and administrative measures to protect the habitat and livelihood of the people of the Meghamalai hill villages, without undertaking any action to forcibly evict them from their homes. சீமான் noted that the நாம் தமிழர் கட்சி will stand firmly in solidarity with the people who are fighting through peaceful means for the right to live on their own land.
The attempt to evict the people of 98 hill villages from their homes is tyranny! The Tamil Nadu government must fulfill the demands of the Meghamalai people struggling in Kadamalai Kundu! @CMOTamilnadu @TVKVijayHQ
— செந்தமிழன் சீமான் (@Seeman4TN) September 29, 2026
For generations in the 98 hill villages in the Meghamalai–Varusanadu areas of Theni district…