Opposition to the South Indian Mills Association’s (SIMA) plan to set up a textile processing park at Periyapattu in the district, is gaining momentum with the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) halting work on laying of pipelines due to stiff resistance from the locals.
Over 10 textile companies under the aegis of SIMA have proposed to set up their processing units in the Phase III of the SIPCOT industrial park.
Though the project was mooted way back in 2013 by SIMA, at an estimate of ₹600 crore, it has met with stiff opposition from the residents of Thyagavalli, Thiruchopuram, Andarmullipallam and Kayalpattu in Periyapattu panchayat.
The move by the TWAD Board to lay pipelines for a distance of 18.5 km for the project ran into rough weather on September 21, after residents opposed the move strongly.
The work was halted and the district administration elicited the views of the villagers, environmentalists and representatives of SIMA at a peace meeting chaired by Collector Chandra Sekhar Sakhamuri on Tuesday.
A senior official said that the work had neither begun nor stopped.
“We have elicited suggestions and objections raised by the villagers. We will be sending a report to the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, a group of environmentalists attached to the SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitors (SACEM) sent a petition to the Collector, seeking to reconsider the permission granted to the project.
M. Ramanathan of SACEM said that the textile park would lead to severe pollution, resulting in irreparable damage to the environment.
“Already, industries in SIPCOT Phase I and II were extracting groundwater indiscriminately through nine borewells sunk in the estate. While groundwater levels have severely depleted, SIPCOT has now proposed to supply water from Phases I and II to the units coming up in Phase III located at a distance of 10 km,” he said.
S. Sivasankar, an environmentalist said that SIPCOT had failed to obtain groundwater clearance from the competent authority.
(With inputs from M. Soundariya Preetha in Coimbatore)