Following opposition from the villagers for establishing beverage plant on the Sipcot premises at Perundurai, revenue officials ordered the works to be halted.
The beverage plant is to come up on 10.6 acre and a masala trading company is to come up on 23 acre inside the Engineering Special Economic Zone of the Sipcot.
Initially the beverage plant is expected to draw 50,000 litre of water.
However, villagers and members of Perundurai SIPCOT Affected People Welfare Association said that drawing water for commercial purpose would further result in shortage of water in the area.
Since, work commenced for establishing the plant and villagers opposed it, a meeting was organised by Erode Revenue Divisional Officer P. Murugesan at the Tahsildar office at Perundurai on Monday in which association’s coordinator S. Chinnasamy and villagers participated. They put forth their objection against drawing water by the beverage plant.
Representatives of the masala company informed that they will drop the plan to establish a manufacturing unit and instead establish a cold storage unit in the allotted land.
This was accepted by the villagers and the association. Representatives of the beverage company said that work has already begun for establishing the plant. But villagers said that they would oppose establishing the plant and wanted the land allotted to company to be taken back. They also wanted works to be halted.
Later, Mr. Murugesan said that works would be halted and added that the issue would be taken up with the Collector for further action.
Tahsildar K. Duraisamy, Environmental Engineer of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board M. Saravanakumar, Sipcot Project Manager Sai Logesh, Chennimalai Police Station Inspector M. Selvaraj and other officials participated.
