Farmers, whose lands the district administration will acquire for implementing the Pilloor III drinking water supply project for the city, demanded fair and immediate compensation at a public hearing the district administration held along with the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board and Coimbatore Corporation in Thekkampatty, near Mettupalayam, on Wednesday.
The administration has proposed acquiring 120 acre in Mettupalayam and Coimbatore North taluks to hand it over to the Board, which will implement the project at ₹ 978.61 crore for the Corporation. The project includes ₹ 105 crore to be paid as compensation to the 170-odd farmers.
The farmers wanted compensation at the earliest as they were apprehensive of delay seen in other projects that saw land acquisition, said T. Pandurangan, president of the coordination committee of farmers of 23 villages near Thekkampatty.
“Be it land acquisition for the Bharathiar University or other drinking water projects, the State government was yet to compensate the farmers who had parted with their lands. Pilloor III should not join the list of such projects.”
He also sought acquisition of the all the lands of farmers if what they were left with was negligible compared to what was acquired – a demand that several other participants at the hearing also echoed. This was necessary because many of the farmers who would lose their lands were small and marginal tillers.
T. Venugopal of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayeegal Sangam (farmers’ association) said the district administration should ensure that the project did not pave way for more wild animals entering farms.
“That the TWAD Board had proposed construction of a road along the pipeline had use, the farmers, worried because the animals would walk through the road, into farms. With the farmers already facing regular destruction of crops, it was imperative that a preventive measure was taken.”
N. Sasikumar, a farmer of Dasampalayam, complemented Mr. Venugopal saying that the district administration should ensure that the trenches were effective enough to deter the animals from venturing into villages.
Residents from Thekampatty and Marudhur villages who spoke said they wanted the TWAD Board to give them a share of the water to be tapped from River Bhavani and taken to the city because the two villages faced acute water shortage. That they were wayside villages should add weight to the demand, he added.
District Revenue Officer D. Ramaduraimurugan said the State government had proposed paying ₹ 6.62 lakh an acre under the old system of calculating value of land to be acquired and ₹ 9.93 lakh an acre under the new system.
Collector K. Rajamani assured the participants that the district administration would look into all their grievances.