VELLORE: Farmers have urged the district administration to take stringent action to curb industrial pollution, especially the unchecked discharge of effluents from leather units in Vellore into the Palar River - a practice the Supreme Court recently slammed as a gross violation of environmental norms.
At the monthly grievance redressal meeting chaired by Collector VR Subbulaxmi here on Friday, farmers alleged that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had failed to enforce the court’s directives. The court, in its January 30 verdict, had directed the state government to curb pollution and compensate affected communities.
Despite the ruling, untreated effluents continue to flow into rivers in Gudiyatham and Pernampattu, turning the water yellow and affecting agriculture, farmers said. “Compensation is only being paid to those in the Palar basin. Farmers elsewhere are equally affected and deserve compensation,” they added.
Illegal sand mining in Palar River was another issue raised during the meet. Farmers accused local officials of ignoring repeated complaints and called for strong measures to prevent sand theft. Additionally, farmers highlighted the long-pending issue of unpaid compensation for land acquired in 2017 for the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway project in Melpadi Panchayat. They also called for a permanent solution to prevent accumulation of garbage at farmers' markets.
In response, the collector directed officials from the departments concerned to take immediate action.