Withdraw SIPCOT project from Cauvery Delta region, CRRC urges TN govt

TIRUCHY: The State government has been planning to eradicate agriculture in the Cauvery Delta by establishing the SIPCOT project. The government must immediately withdraw the plan as this is an Agriculture Protected Zone, said the Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee (CRRC) Coordinator P Maniarasan on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Thanjavur, Maniarasan said, the Tamil Nadu government is very keen on transforming the agricultural lands into chemical zones by establishing industries in the Delta region.

“Tiruchy district has several industries and a SIPCOT unit there would not be a problem but establishing such units at Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts which are under Agriculture Protected Zone will have an environmental issue and the agricultural lands would turn into chemical zones and so we request the government to withdraw the plan,” the coordinator of CRRC said.

Stating that the SIPCOT units would concentrate agriculture industries itself as cheating, Maniarasan said, there is a conspiracy not to entertain

agriculture activities in the Cauvery Delta region and so more than two lakh cusecs of water was diverted into the Kollidam sparing the Cauvery, Vennaru and GA canal.

“We will organise a protest with the support of the farmers against establishing SIPCOT project and we will also plan to organise a jail-fill protest against the proposed project,” Maniarasan said.