Villagers in Nagapattinam are boycotting elections in protest against CPCL Land Acquisition Firm

Due to their demands for “fair” compensation and alternative employment, residents of three panchayats in the district, which are protesting against land acquisition by Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), which is expanding its refinery capacity, have threatened to boycott the upcoming general election.

Under the Land Acquisition Act, CPCL is buying around 700 acres of land, mostly from farmers in the Panangudi, Narimanam, and Gopurajapuram panchayats, in order to build its refinery plant in the Cauvery basin, with a capacity of one million metric tons. It is anticipated that the enlarged factory would be able to handle nine million metric tons.

The “low” payment provided, however, makes the farmers hesitant to give up their property. The landowners have been flying black flags at their homes for the last month as part of their ongoing demonstrations against it. “Many medium-sized, small, and marginal farmers are losing their main source of income due to the land acquisition,” said V Sakthivel of Narimanam.

We need to discover other sources of money since their pricing is inadequate. Thus, we will abstain from voting.” “We demand a price on a par with that of land acquired for national highway projects,” Panangudi farmer S Sakthivel said. In accordance with the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, we also seek employment for family members and alternative grazing land parcels for cow farming. Panangudi resident S Kaliyaperumal said,

“Land acquisition for industrial growth is causing many agricultural laborers and tenant farmers to lose their means of subsistence. We insist on quickly determining land compensation in accordance with the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act.” “We met the landowners and residents a month ago and assured them fair compensation under the rehabilitation and resettlement Act,” said Nagapattinam RDO C Aranganathan when contacted. Still, some people don’t believe it. We’ll try to appease them once again.”