Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday hinted that cases filed against farmers in the delta region for staging protests against hydrocarbon exploration and other projects will be withdrawn.
Addressing the gathering at a thanksgiving meeting in Tiruvarur by farmers of the Cauvery delta for the enactment of a law declaring the region a protected agricultural zone, the CM said the plea for the withdrawal of cases filed against farmers will be “considered positively” and necessary steps taken, since the issue over which they had protested had been resolved.
A file picture of a protest against hydrocarbon exploration in Neduvasal. M_Moorthy
He was conferred the title ‘ Cauvery Kapaalar (Guardian of the Cauvery) by farmers on the occasion.
The Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act will protect the delta region forever, the CM said. The validity of the Act was endorsed by the Union government in Parliament when an MP from Tamil Nadu raised doubts over its legality, he claimed.
Stating that the initiative taken three decades ago by S. Ranganathan, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, had formed the basis for all subsequent developments pertaining to the Cauvery issue, he said he was proud to move the draft Bill to protect the Cauvery basin in the Assembly, which was also the first Bill that he had moved in his entire political career.
Thanking the farmers for giving him the title, he said the government would ensure that the river was protected forever.
He also listed the slew of projects implemented by the present government for improving the infrastructure and agriculture in the Delta region.
The inauguration of GA Canal Modernisation project, to be implemented with assistance from the Asian Development Bank, would be held soon, he said.
Mr. Ranganathan recalled his meeting with former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, who conceded to a request from farmers to ensure that the case filed by the ryots at the Supreme Court remained alive.
