Thervoy Kandigai is another Nandigram happening near Chennai.
Thervoy Forest,Lifeline of Thervoy Kandigai was cared and protected for more that 200years by the local village. This protected forest was adopted by the Tamilnadu government in the year 2008 and was chopped off to facilitate setting up factory for Micheline Tyres, World's Largest Tyre manufacture,a Beer Factory and a Glass Factory.
Letter Sent to Environment Minister - Sri Jairam Ramesh
3.5.2011
To
Sri Jairam Ramesh
Honorable Union Minister for Environment & Forests
Camp
Chennai
Dear Sir,
We bring to your urgent attention and immediate action, the plight of Dalits, Tribals and others in Thervoy Kandikai and neighboring villages affected by the SIPCOT Industrial Park having been located in spite of continuing public protest against the Environmental destruction of village forest, Water bodies, Livestock and Agriculture leading to violation of Right to Life and Livelihood of thousands of rural population.
Thervoy Kandigai and Neighbouring villages
Thervoy Kandigai is located at Gummudipoondi Taluk of Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu state. It is 73 kms North of Chennai city, and 23 kilometer from the Kaverapettai junction of the Nellore Highway (NH5). It is 8 kilometers from the state High Way 52 towards Sakthiyavedu. Under Therovy Kandigai panchayat there are six villages namely: Thervoy, Thervoy Colony, Dr Ambedkar Nagar, Villiyar (schedule tribe), Thervoy Kandigai (dalit village) and Thirvalluvar Nagar.
The ongoing SIPCOT Industrial Park is hosted in Thervoy Kandigai on 1127 acres of land which hosts Thondaiman Lake, Mekkal Poromboke
land (actually a village forest land under the joint forest management scheme- See Annexure 1), Dr Ambedkar Nagar and village burial ground. The 1127 acres acts as a catchment area feeding several lakes and ponds irrigating agricultural land, providing water for drinking, livestock and in-land fisheries for 25 villages and hamlets including the six villages mentioned above. Agriculture and animal husbandry is the mainstay of all these villages, and people harvest two to three crops per year.
Thervoy Kandigai alone has a population of 2667, and a sex ratio of 1002, which is likely to decline if agriculture declines as women’s work force participation in agriculture is higher than in industries or services. Dalits constitute two thirds of Thervoy Kandigai
SIPCOT industrial park and likely environment impact
The proposed industrial park of 1127 acre land is supposed to host the following units: Michelin Tyre Company, aluminum and ferrous alloy metal-maker Hunter Douglas India private Limitied, Harsha Float Glass and Harsha Exito Engineering Private Limited. However investigation by an activist reveals that there is also a brewery which is supposed to come up, linked to the ruling party.
The Environment Impact Assessment study done by Dr. Lakshmanan, the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) notes that the agriculture, livestock and other livelihoods of the Thervoy Kandigai village as well as the other 24 villages will be affected if the Industrial Park comes up in the Thondaiman Lake and Mekkal Poromboke land (Dr Lakshmanan, 2010, Summary attached as Annexure 2). The Mekkal Poromboke land also plays hosts to a variety of medicinal plants, fruits and herbs. The enquiry by National Alliance of People’s Movements suggests that access to drinking water (classified as class A), fuel wood, open space for toilets and menstrual hygiene would also get affected, affecting women more than men.
The Environment Impact Assessment study done by Dr Lakshmanan, the MIDS notes that the area will receive less rainfall which will affect storage of water in lakes and ground water supply. The quality of atmospheric air and environment would become warm and hot unsuitable for many species The air and ground water pollution would affect people’s health and increase vulnerability to contagious diseases. The same report notes that the proposed industries would affect the village nerve system, people’s land, agriculture and socio cultural milieu and above all environment degradation and ground water depletion. Further, the industrial establishments will bring along real estate, hotels restaurants, and business centers which might require more land and resources. The Professor from the MIDS notes that ultimately the local communities who live in the village at present would be forced to sell their agriculture land and live without dignity
Undemocratic process of decision making, unjust government EIA and no pollution control board clearance
Undemocratic process
Just before the SIPCOT industry commenced in 2009 (announced in 2007), there was a non judicial agreement dated 21-12-2008 between forest department and Thervoy Panchayat stating that the Mekkal grazing land (also classified as reserve forest) will be managed by the panchayat for the year 2008-2009, and then handed over to the Village Forest Committee for management between 2009- 12 (See Annex 1).
Further, Gram Sabha which was held on 15-8-2009 in which majority of the six village/hamlets under Therovy Kandigai Panchayat were present took part did not approve the project as it would affect their lives and livelihood (Annexure 3). So it is not clear how the 1325 acres of Mekkal Poromboke/grazing land was handed over without people approving it.
Unjust and False EIA
The EIA report of TN Pollution Control Board evaluating parameters of the industries speaks of nil distance to sensitive zones and assures zero air or water pollution. It mentions that the water required for the industries would be only 4.5 MLD which be sourced through Chennai Metro water. It is deliberately silent about the disastrous implications the proposed industries will have on its native population- a most strikingly, a complete cessation of farming and allied activities. Curiously the EIA report claims that within the 10 km radius of acquired land no protected living beings, water bodies area or sanctuaries exist. In fact it states that “Around the 10 Km radius, there is no vegetation. But a very small area of protected forest is there”. On 2/8/2010 SIPCOT CMD Niranjan Modi was unavailable for reaction to the MIDS Professor Dr Lakshmanan. Mr M.R.J General Manager of Sipcot claimed that the EIA had been done and a public hearing was held, which people had approved (cited in Annexure 4),
when actually people had not approved in (improper) public hearing, and as per Gram Sabha resolution(Annexure 3).
The public hearing on the implications of the SIPCOT industrial park was held in Gummudipundi, 15 km away from Thervoy Kandigai, which itself is an improper procedure. Hence the public hearing should be again held. The officials in the public hearing admitted that it failed to take into account the inconsistency in the species of flora and fauna reported in the study area, besides lack of studies on the impact during monsoons and loss of employment due to the establishment of the industrial park.
Lack of pollution control clearance:
Madhumita Datta, an Independent Researcher and Activist, filed a RTI on 25/2/2011 with the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on whether pollution control clearance was obtained and was informed on 24-3-2011 by the TN Pollution Control Board that it had not issued consent for Establishment to the SIPCOT Industrial Park at Thervoy Kandigai. See Annexure 5.
Ongoing destruction and its impact
Discussions with villagers by activists and researchers associated with NAPM reveal that a check dam built by the forest department in 1995 in the MekKal Porumboke land/Forest has already been destroyed by the SIPCOT. This is going to affect water security. Of 7 lakes, three have been closed by SIPCOT according to the villagers of Thervoy Kandigai who were met in the last week of April. THAT IS EARLIER SCHEMES OF GOVERNMENT ARE BEING ERODED BY THE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Sadly women reported that one young woman who went to collect fuel had to face a naked man, and came back. Now they are forced to go in groups of ten to collect fuel, to use open space as toilets and for menstrual hygiene.
Protest of affected women and men government’s repression
The people of Thervoy Kandigai have been protesting since 2007 to 2011 against the proposed/ongoing SIPCOT industrial park using a variety of democratic and peaceful methods like road blocks, hunger strikes, demonstrations, pada yatra (10/10/2010), holding of mass meetings, boycott of elections and surrendering of ration cards and election cards. Sixty one people (including six women) were arrested on 9-1-2009 in spite of such democratic protests against destruction of right to life and livelihood. They were subsequently released on bail. On 15/2/2011 eight male youth were arrested and released on bail.
When a group of youth went to the next village using their traditional path in the village forest area a case was registered by the police at the behest of Michelin Tyre company that they indulged in violence which was a total falsehood. This sparked a wave of protest in the form of an indefinite hunger fast in March, 2011 for ten days by thousand residents of Thervoyal Kandigai. During the hunger fast all local political parties took part, and the Collector asked the people to withdraw the hunger strike on the plea that the case would be withdrawn against the youth, and there would be no more construction of the companies in the SIPCOT industrial park. However, this commitment was not adhered to. There was a public meeting on 15th March, 2011, which was attended by Ms Medha Patkar, National Convenor, National Alliance of People’s Movement. After two days 500 women from Thervoy Kandigai stopped construction materials of Michelin Tyre Company peacefully. The Superintendent of Police, Thirvullavur district sent a contingent of 500 policemen and police women who mercilessly indulged in lathi charge against the women, a violation of their right to protest. Some women’s jackets were ripped (see Annexure 6) and mangal sutras from 2 women snatched. Police raided some of the houses and broke the bikes and hit some of the youth. 158 women and 10 male youth were arrested, and detained in a Mandapam in Ponneri till midnight and women were released while ten male youth were remanded to custody. A case under Public Property Damage Act was filed against them. After fifteen days they were released on bail, but still the case against them has not been dropped. The youth leader of National Alliance of Peoples Movement filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission on 24/03/2011 (case no 222/22/12/2011).
THUS THE SIPCOT TAKING OVER THE VILLAGE FOREST/MEKKAL POROMBOKE LAND HAS DISPOSSESSED THE 1000 SCHEDULED CASTE FAMILIES IN THERVOY AND IS DESTRUCTIVE OF FORESTS, WATER RESOURCES AND, AGRICULTURE, HENCE A VIOLATION OF RIGHT TO LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD AND WILL LEAD TO GREATER POVERTY, INEQUALITIES, UNREST AND MARGINALISATION OF WOMEN.
IT HAS LED TO PROTESTS AND BRUTAL SUPPRESSION OF DALIT WOMEN BY TAMIL NADU POLICE WHILE THE DECISION ITSELF IS UNDEMOCRATIC, WITHOUT PROPER PUBLIC CONSULTATION BASED ON FALSE OFFICIAL EIA AND OVERLOOKING GRAM SABHA RESOLUTION, THUS TOTALLY ILLEGAL, AND UNWARRANTED, AGAINST PUBLIC INTEREST AND ONLY TO AID CORPORATE PROFIT.
HENCE WE URGE YOU TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION IMMEDIATELY:
Ø THE SIPCOT INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX IN THERVOY KANDIGAI SHOULD BE WITHDRAWN IMMEDIATELY AND RESTORATION OF WATER BODIES, FORESTS AND RESOURCES SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN
Ø CASE UNDER PREVENTION OF ATTROCITIES ON SC/ST ACT SHOULD BE FILED ON SIPCOT OFFICIALS FOR DISPOSSESSING DALITS
Ø CASES AGAINST DALIT YOUTH SHOULD BE DROPPED
Ø COMPENSATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO DALIT WOMEN VICTIMS OF POLICE ATROCITIES
Ø PENAL ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN AGAINST THE MAN FOR INDECENT BEHAVIOUR.
Ø PENAL ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN AGAINST THE COMPANIES FOR HAVING INDULGED IN VIOLATIONS
