Residents of Jaganathan Layout, Chikkadasampalayam, and colonies in the neighbourhood in Mettupalayam on Monday petitioned the District Collector, Archana Patnaik, asking her to stop the erection of a mobile phone tower in the locality.
The petitioners led by R. Selvaraj said that they feared that the radiation from the tower would negatively affect their health.
The residents had earlier brought to the notice of the Collector in November 2013. Based on the petition, the Collector had passed an order asking phone companies to consult the residents, take them into confidence before erecting the tower.
But the company had made attempts to erect the tower without talking to the residents earlier on May.
When the residents protested, the company gave up the move.
Now, the company had renewed its effort to erect a tower in the area, Mr. Selvaraj said.
Probe sought
The Social Awareness Movement asked the District Collector to investigate whether compensation had been paid to the right persons for the land acquired in Rathinapuri to construct a railway underpass.
The organisation’s founder-president J.D. Socrates said that the land identified for acquisition either belonged to the government or the Coimbatore Corporation and the people identified as beneficiaries had encroached upon the land or had donated it to the civic body.
A few officials had concealed these facts and had joined hands with the ‘beneficiaries’ with the objective of siphoning off the compensation money, he said and listed out a few names and survey numbers to support his allegations.
‘Scapegoat’
In another petition Mr. Socrates said that the Corporation Chief Engineer, K. Sugumar, who was placed under suspension, was being made a scapegoat in order to shield the real culprits.
To blame the Chief Engineer alone for the missing three trucks was unfair.
The allegation against the engineer was that though the Corporation had ordered for 33 trucks for transporting garbage, the contracted company had supplied only 30 lorries and that he did not take steps to ensure the supply of the remaining three lorries or have the money returned.
The Corporation had lodged a complaint in 2012 but the political pressure ensured that the police did not take action, Mr. Socrates alleged.
The case must be transferred to the Crime Branch, he added.
