TIRUPPUR: Farmers and residents of Kootampalli Privu near Cheyvur staged a protest on Tuesday after they spotted a team carrying out a land survey in the village. They suspect the State government is reviving plans to build a SIPCOT Electronic Complex in the region. The locals pointed out that during campaign for assembly elections last year, DMK chief MK Stalin and the then chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said the project, which will span 889.89 acres, will not be implemented.
On Tuesday, a three-member team, believed to be deployed by SIPCOT, conducted a survey of farmlands using a drone when the villagers detained and gheraoed them. Police from Cheyyur station rushed to rescue them.
A Subramaniam, coordinator of Kalanjiyam Farmers Association said, " When the villagers and farmers questioned them, the group claimed they were surveying for Google Maps. But as locals were relentless, they confessed to have been sent by the State government."
Thathanur village panchayat president K Vijaya Kumar said, "The project was announced in November 2020 and we have been opposing it since then. Over 889 acres will be acquired for the project. In Thathanur alone 500 acres would be acquired. We suspect owners had already sold the land to SIPCOT, that is why the survey has begun. The complex would affect livelihood of around 800 farmer families. We had registered our opposition with the district administration and staged protests."
He added, "Senior leaders of political parties assured us the project will not be implemented, but now surveyors are being engaged. Local officials also promised to take action, but when we asked them to cancel the project order, they did not give anything in writing."
An official from district administration said, "We cannot comment on the status of the project. Surveyors are deployed by SIPCOT as a part of the GIS mapping and preparation for SIPCOT New Land Banks across Tamil Nadu. Further, we cannot offer any information about the scrapping of the project."