Tamil Nadu Farmers Oppose Land Consolidation Act, Call it 'Anti-People, Pro-Corporate'

Chennai: Demanding the withdrawal of the Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act – passed in the Assembly session in April 202 – Tamil Nadu Vivasayigam Sangam (AIKS) held a protest near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore, Chennai on Thursday. More than 500 farmers participated and raised slogans demanding the withdrawal of the Act, calling it “anti-people” and “pro-corporate”.

Former judge of Madras High Court, Justice D Hariparanthaman, also participated in the protest. He said, “On April 21, two laws were passed in the Tamil Nadu legislative Assembly: the anti-people step to increase working hours of employees and to expropriate land from farmers without any control. Due to public pressure, the amendments to the Factories Act were withdrawn. But the Land Consolidation Act, which appropriates farmers' land, remains in effect.”

Through the Land Consolidation Act, the state government can provide private companies with more than 250 acres of land without many constraints.

“Chief Minister M K Stalin travelled abroad to invite private companies to come and acquire our land. Already, 4,000 acres of land have been given to Adani in Chennai for Kattupalli port in this manner. If this is how the state can achieve industrial development, we do not want such progress!” added Justice Hariparanthaman.

P Shanmugam, president of AIKS, Tamil Nadu, said, “We have decided to continue fighting until the Tamil Nadu government withdraws the Act, just as it withdrew amendments to the Factories Act. We urge the chief minister of Tamil Nadu to realise the impact of this Act and take steps to reverse it.”

In a statement issued by AIKS, the general secretaries of AIKS Tamil Nadu, Sami Natarajan and P S Masilamani, said: “The Tamil Nadu government passed 17 bills on the last day of the previous session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly without any discussion in the Assembly. Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation Act 2023 is of utmost importance.”

“The Act provides for allotment of up to 100 hectares of land, including water bodies and waterways, to private individuals for special projects notified by the Government. There are already many laws for land acquisition, and farmers struggle to get fair legal compensation while the land is acquired from farmers for new projects,” it read.

AIKS has opposed the Act, stating it will not help protect the lands of the poor micro, small and medium farmers and will not protect water bodies in Tamil Nadu. On the contrary, “the Tamil Nadu government should realise that this law will only be used to tarnish water bodies in the name of industrial development for corporate establishments,” according to the AIKS statement.

On 17 May, AIKS held protests across Tamil Nadu demanding the withdrawal of this Act. Various other organisations and hydrologists have insisted that the Act be withdrawn. However, the state government has not responded to these demands. 

Earlier this month, AIKS and the All India Agriculture Workers’ Union (AIAWU) held a signature campaign demanding that the state government repeal the Act.