TIRUPPUR: In Udumalaipet, Tiruppur district, approximately 118.66 acres of farmlands in the PAP canal irrigation zone have been re-purposed for non-agricultural use, according to revenue records. Farmers who own land near the repurposed areas expressed fear that the shrinking of agriculture land area would affect release of water from the PAP irrigation system.
Of the 428.32 acres of farmland originally designated under PAP irrigation areas in these villages, only 309.66 acres are still utilized for agriculture, highlighting a significant conversion of 118.66 acres for commercial purposes.
According to revenue records, the conversion spans around 105 locations in six revenue villages in Udumalaipet taluk. These areas now house windmills, poultry farms, yarn godowns, coconut processing facilities, coir rope-making units, TANGEDCO powerhouse, etc. These spots are found Veethampatti, Virukalpatti, Mungilthovulu, Kosavampalayam, Vagatholuvu, and Anaikadavu.
Expressing concerns over the revelation, PAP Farmers Welfare Association treasurer Vijayasekar said “Records of several villages within the PAP canal zone are yet to be given by the authorities. The records will be useful for farmers, especially after their removal from the original irrigation areas.”
Confirming the development, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Udumalaipet Jaswant Khanna said, “These are the compilations of adangal records (land classification records) which are maintained by VAOs in the respective villages. Some records may not be updated for several months due to the workload of VAOs. We have given these records to get updated as of June 2023. So, the exact picture of the non-irrigation lands will come out after we have a manual survey, which will be conducted very soon.”
He added “An online geo-tagging survey has been initiated by the state government and will be implemented in all villages in and around the PAP main canal and branch canals in the district. The survey report will be submitted to higher authorities.”