Date:18/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/18/stories/2008121854060300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Speed up relief payment, say pollution-hit farmers

Staff Reporter

Awarded to them by the Loss of Ecology Committee

KARUR: Farmers in the pollution-hit Noyal river basin have urged the State Government to quickly disburse the compensation awarded to them by the Loss of Ecology Committee.

“We are depressed by the devastation caused by the pollution. The compensation is also meagre. If that too is being delayed, then what is the point in assessing the damage?” wonders Karur K. Paramathi Taluk Noyyal River and Channel Farmers’ Welfare Association president M. Ramasamy.

The root of the problem lay in the pollution caused by effluents discharged by the textile and knitwear units in Tirupur into the river. The effluents have poisoned Orathupalayam and Aathupalayam reservoirs Water from the reservoirs started polluting the Noyyal ayacut and thousands of acres of fertile lands in Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts gradually became unfit for cropping. The polluted Noyyal also made life hell for the people and livestock along its banks.

People have complained of ailments ranging from skin to impotency. Animals exposed to the polluted waters developed infertility and suffered debilitating diseases.

30,000 acres affected

An estimated 30,000 acres in the three districts have been hugely affected by the pollution problem, putting a question mark over the livelihood of several thousand farmers. These farmers were growing paddy, sugarcane, turmeric, coconut, korai (reed grass) and even betel vine once.

After repeated pleas to the governments and filing of a suit in the Madras High Court by the farmers, the Committee was instituted with retired High Court judge Bhaskaran as the chairman to assess the impact of the pollution and recommend suitable compensation to the affected people. The committee gave its recommendations on December 17, 2004, classifying the damage to the fields into five categories and awarded compensation accordingly. The compensation pertained to eight years and three months of suffering prior to the date of submission of recommendations.

“All of us are peeved that that the panel did not award a better compensation. We decided to receive the compensation under protest. But it is pitiable that even after long years of suffering, even the meagre compensation that has been awarded is taking undue time to reach,” rue the farmers in K. Paramathi.

The portion of compensation the polluters have to pay has been collected by the authorities and sent to the district administrations. After several pleas, compensation was released to nine persons on October 10. There are more than 550 petitions pending payment, the farmers add. “We urge the Government to ensure that the compensation reaches us fast,” they say.