Rs 2,500 crore Titanium project on hold in TN

CHENNAI: The proposed Rs 2,500 crore titanium dioxide project in Sathankulam of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu may not take off as the state government buckling under pressure has called for a review.

A day after opposition leader J Jayalalithaa threatened to “personally lead” an agitation against the project, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday said the project will not be given the nod till a team of ministers interacts with people and submits a report.

For the Tatas, Sathankulam appeared to be another Singur in the making Even the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an ally of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had opposed the Tata’s proposition to acquire about 15,000 acres of land rich in titanium ores.

The first voice of protest came from Sarath Kumar, actor and former Rajya Sabha member of the DMK. He was soon joined by MDMK leader Vaiko and later, Jayalalithaa.

Jayalalithaa said her government had signed a MoU with the Tatas in 2002 to conduct a feasibility study, but the deal was allowed to lapse in 2005 after concerns from various sections.

“I dropped the deal in the interests of the people and the state. Now the government is planning to forcibly acquire 15,600 acres from 20,000 poor farmers,” Jayalalithaa said.

Karunanidhi retorted saying that Jayalalithaa had entered into a tacit agreement with a “thug” who was allowed to mine garnet without paying anything to the government.

Rebuffing Karunanidhi’s claim that only dry land would be acquired for the project, Ramadoss said, “Much of the land earmarked for the project is cultivable. Even if it is dry land and if the Tatas are interested in the land, they should approach the farmers directly. The government should have no role in it.”

Meanwhile, Sarath Kumar observed, “The government has promised to provide water at the project site till the Tatas set up their own desalination facility. This would mean tapping scarce water from Tamirabharani river.”