Farmers oppose land acquisition for high-tension transmission project.

Farmers from villages of Kayar and Vembedu went on a fast against the acquisition of fertile agricultural lands by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for installing overhead high tension 440 kilo volt (KV) transmission line, outside the State Guest House in the city on Tuesday.

K. Sitrarasu, a farmer from Kayar village in Kancheepuram district, said the Electricity Deparment was executing a high tension transmission project from Kalivanthapattu to Sholinganallur via Pogalur, Ottiambakkam, Thaiyur, Pudhupakkam, Siruseri, Kayar and Vembedu villages. While the deparment had initially proposed the alignment of the electricity line to be carried out through government poromoboke lands, suddenly there was a deviation and agricultural lands in the two villages of Kayar and Vembedu were included for the project.

He complained that as per the initial alignment drawn out through remote sensing by the Anna University, it had avoided residential layouts and agricultural lands. Also the total stretch of transmission line was around 15 kilometres.

The villagers asked why the Electricity Department had neglected Anna University’s alignment study and instead handed over the project to a private player who has diverted the alignment and has increased the transmission stretch to 27 kilometres.

THE HINDU