CHENNAI: Slamming the State government for implementing the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act, 2023, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss demanded the government to keep the Act in abeyance and withdraw it during the upcoming Assembly session.
"The Act has come into force from October 18, despite opposition from PMK and several farmers' organisations. It is being implemented with the welfare of private companies in mind. This is condemnable," he said in a statement.
He recalled that the government passed the Bill to acquire land for special projects without any debate on April 21, 2023. "As per the Act, water bodies can be acquired for infrastructure, commerce, industries and agricultural projects by providing alternate land. Moreover, there is no bar to hand over water bodies to private parties. Already, the extent and number of water bodies are declining," he pointed out, claiming the Act would worsen the situation.
The statement added that the State had as many as 41,127 lakes a few decades ago with a storage capacity of 347 TMC. This is greater than the total storage of huge dams, the PMK president said. "Now, there are only 27,000 lakes. After the DMK government took over, not a single project has been implemented to increase irrigated areas. The government should at least protect the existing water bodies," he said.
Pointing out that the government has created a land bank of 45,000 acres through SIPCOT, Anbumani said there is no need for such an Act. “This Act allows land consolidation for projects more than 100 acres. This is a sheer betrayal of farmers and the public. On one side, the government is evicting people living close to water bodies. On the other hand, it tries to hand over water bodies to private entities," he said.