more-in A section of farmers from double crop paddy cultivating regions in Madurai, led by Pennycuick Double Crop Farmers and Water Resources Protection Association, staged a demonstration here on Monday against National Highways Authority of India’s proposal to lay a stretch of Outer Ring Road connecting Thaathampatti near Vadipatti on the Dindigul highway with Manthikulam near Chathirapatti on the Madurai-Natham highway. Pointing out that the nearly 30-km-long road to be laid at a cost of around ? 800 crore will pass through some of the most fertile agricultural land in Madurai district fed by Periyar Main Canal, the farmers condemned the NHAI for not considering alternative routes. Stating that the farmers were not against the need for an Outer Ring Road for Madurai district, K. Swaminathan, president of the association, said the Tamil Nadu Highways Department already had a proposal for a similar project along a slightly different route. “That aims at expanding existing roads, which requires minimal land acquisition,” he said. “The NHAI can either choose that route or design an alternative route along the land above the Periyar Main Canal, which is predominantly arid and poramboke,” he added. According to the notifications issued by the NHAI, the proposed highway will need acquisition of more than 500 acres. “If implemented, the project will sound the death knell for paddy cultivation in double crop regions in Madurai. The impact will not be just on the land earmarked for acquisition, but the entire topography of the region will change if the road comes up,” said T. Suresh, secretary of the association. N. Palanichamy, representing Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers’ Association and Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association, who also addressed the protesters, accused the NHAI of deploying high-handed tactics for land acquisition. “As per the present legislations, the consent of the public is important. However, everything is being done coercively,” he said. Arguing that the claims of NHAI and the State government about ‘attractive’ financial compensations for the acquired land cannot be trusted, he said that the compensation for a number of highway projects completed years before were yet to be properly settled. “I myself am handling around 20 such cases for many years,” Mr. Palanichamy, who is also an advocate, said.

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