Knowledge city vital, but not at the cost of agri: PMK Anbumani Ramadoss

CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the state government to drop the proposal to create a knowledge city in Tiruvallur by acquiring farmlands and shift the project to other cities where government land is available.

In a statement, Anbumani said that the state government has reduced the project area to 870 acres from 1,703 acres after the opposition for acquiring agricultural lands in Uthukottai in Tiruvallur district.

“As per the earlier announcement, the government has decided to acquire 1,146 acres of farmlands. However, there is no clarity on whether 314 acres of farmland would be acquired in addition to 556 government land or the entire 870 acres would be acquired from farmers. PMK will not let the government take even a handful of soil from agricultural land,” he said.

Reassuring that PMK supports knowledge city projects and bringing foreign universities, he added that they will not allow the State to acquire fertile land at a mere price of Rs 15 lakh while it can generate revenue of Rs 10 lakh a year.

“If the government intends, the knowledge can be created on 556 acres of government poramboke land. Or, the government should use 4,000 acres of land belonging to the Salem Steel Plant. The government can also try to implement the project in Madurai or Coimbatore regions,” he opined.