A group of villagers submitted a petition to Collector M. Karunakaran here on Monday against the move to acquire 1,500 acres of land for expansion of the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) industrial complex.
The petitioners, led by former Vasudevanallur MLA R. Krishnan, said that the State government acquired over 4,500 acres of land near Piraancherry, Gangaikondan and Chithaarchathiram a few years ago with a promise that those who gave their lands would be given employment in the companies that would come up in the industrial estate. Though work on the industrial complex was yet to take off in a big way, the officials were planning to acquire additional 1,500 acres near Venkatachalapuram for its expansion.
“At a time when we are struggling to lead a decent life after our cultivable lands were acquired, the move to acquire more lands would further jeopardise the means to livelihood for a large number of villagers. Hence, the Collector should stop the expansion move,” they said.
Exorbitant fee
Chairman of Federation of Consumer Organisation – Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry (FEDCOT) D.A. Prabhakar submitted a petition seeking the Collector’s intervention to curb the practice of collecting an exorbitant amount of admission fee by matriculation and aided schools, instead of following the fee structure fixed by State government-appointed committees.
The Collector must depute education officials to check those schools and protect the interests of poor students, he said.
