THOOTHUKUDI: The uninformed ‘public hearing’ conducted for displacement of Koodalnagar habitants for the ISRO’s third rocket launching pad project at Mathavankurichi panchayat near Kulasekarapattinam held at the village on Wednesday, has created confusion among the public.
However, Collector Dr K Senthil Raj clarified that it was an interaction and he would ask the Public Relations Officer (PRO) to clarify that it was not a public hearing.
In view of the rocket launching project, the district administration is in the process of acquiring over 2300 acres in Mathavankurichi panchayat, Padukapathu and Pallakurichi villages near Kulasekarapattinam here. The land acquisition process includes Koodalnagar village, home to 37 families, and the people will be dislocated. However, they are opposing the acquisition.
On Wednesday, Collector paid a visit to the village and convinced them to take the land the government is offering. Sources said that the land includes water facilities, park, school, cattle farms, concrete houses for every family and other perks. In the evening, a press release from the Collector’s Public Relations office said that a public hearing was conducted at Koodalnagar and the residents were asked to take a good decision on vacating the village soon.
One Rajesh of Koodalnagar said that they neither participated in public hearing nor accepted the government offers to move to other places. “We had an interaction with the collector who happened to visit us on his way to other places on Wednesday. We strongly object to the notion of public hearing. Cattle farming and karupatti making is our main occupation. As our livelihood largely depends on the palmyra trees, dislocating us will extremely affect our occupation,” he said.
The Koodalnagar people were asked to plan something constructive rather than a destructive phase.