Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Thursday urged the AIADMK government to frame guidelines for the Protected Special Agricultural Zone declared in the Cauvery delta region, since there were still attempts to lay pipelines in the area.
In a statement, Mr. Dhinakaran said pipelines were reportedly being laid by the ONGC in Thirunagari near Sirkali in Cuddalore district, even during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Referring to the enactment of the Act for declaring the Cauvery delta region as a Protected Special Agricultural Zone only in February, Mr. Dhinakaran questioned how pipelines were being laid as deep as 5 feet. If Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was truly inclined to protect the interests of farmers, he should prevent the laying of pipelines, Mr. Dhinakaran insisted.
“Guidelines should be framed at once before agricultural lands in the Protected Special Agricultural Zone are affected and before the sand is illegally mined from the rivers,” Mr. Dhinakaran contended.
