Certain delta districts were not included in the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Bill as they were largely industrial districts, and hence, were not as affected as the ones mentioned in the Bill, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Thursday.
Replying to DMK president M.K. Stalin, who sought to know why Tiruchi, Ariyalur and Karur districts were left out of the scope of the Bill, the Chief Minister said, “Tiruchi and Karur are largely industrial districts. Hence, we have not included them. They are not as affected as the other districts. In the delta region, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur are fully delta districts (those with fertile areas). We have mentioned one region each in Cuddalore and Pudukottai as well,” Mr. Palaniswami said.
Incidentally, when Mr. Palaniswami announced his decision to declare the delta region a Protected Special Agricultural Zone a fortnight ago, he had mentioned Tiruchi and Ariyalur among the districts that would fall under its ambit. He did not mention Karur.
Responding to another point raised by Mr. Stalin, as to why the Bill did not prohibit the conversion of agricultural land in the designated zone into real estate land, Mr. Palaniswami said farmers had a right to sell their land, and will be adversely affected if they are prohibited from doing so.
The CM said the Centre had informed the T.N. government that the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) can take a final call on projects and on whether to allow any particular project in a specific region. He said Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had, in reply to his letter, said: “Any project proponent will, in the present scheme of things, have to apply to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, which is an organ of the State government, and SEIAA will take a final call.”
Striking a balance
Later, Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam said Ariyalur and Karur were well-industrialised districts. He said Tamil Nadu was the second largest industrial economy in the country, and the government had to take care of both industries and agriculture. When DMK MLA Thangam Thennarasu sought to know if petrochemical, chemical and fertilizer industries would be allowed in the protected zone since they were not mentioned in the Bill, Mr. Shanmugam said the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Authority had the power to decide on each project. He said hydrocarbon projects won't be allowed in the State.
