DINDIGUL: Days after several hundred youngsters submitted petitions supporting the development of a TANSIDCO industrial estate to the Ottachatram Taluk Office, the farmers opposed the proposal in Ottanchatram in Dindigul district. They have alleged that the project would disturb local ecosystems and agricultural lands.
While speaking to TNIE, Tamilnadu Farmers Association (Dindigul) Coordinator K Vadivel, said, "The location of the proposed industrial estate in Ottanchatram is rich in agriculture and horticulture. The factories and commercial establishments spreading over 70 acres will be detrimental to the surrounding agricultural lands. The industrial effluents will damage groundwater levels and cause air pollution. Hence, we are opposing the setting up of the industrial estate. But politicians are using youngsters and forcefully making them submit petitions in favour of the industrial estate development."
Several political parties, including the PMK and the BJP, have opposed TANSIDCO's project. But officials have claimed that the project would not allow heavy industries tagged under the "Red Category" to set up factories in the proposed estate.
Speaking to TNIE, a top official from TANSIDCO (Madurai Zone), said, "We have proposed to the collector acquiring 53 acres of land in Kodayyam village in the Ottanchatram taluk. We have decided to only allow industries and factories that are not in the "red category," as specified by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The primary purpose is to support commercial establishments such as individual industrial plots, which can allow industrial growth and generate jobs in the district. But the farmers have misunderstood the entire situation. We are planning to start educating the farmers and villagers on the issue soon."