TN This Week: Farmers Intensify Protest as Greenfield Airport Project Expands

A family in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district accused teachers of harassing and beating up their child, a student of Class VII in a government school, for consuming beef.

According to officials, as many as 205 bonded labourers in agriculture, goat and duck rearing, brick kilns, cable work, and jewellery-making units were rescued during surprise inspections. It was the outcome of the coordinated efforts of the Labour Department along with the other law enforcement agencies.

Presidents of five panchayats along with residents in Thanjavur staged a protest on Wednesday refusing to merge their villages with the Adirampattinam Municipality as they already lack several basic amenities.

The Art Teacher Welfare Association has asked the School Education Department to provide an increment of Rs 2,500 to the part-time teachers, as assured by the School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.

In a move to resolve the issues of people, Chief Minister MK Stalin launched the ‘Ungalai Thedi, Ungal Ooril (in search of you, in your town)’ scheme and directed district collectors to visit taluks in their respective districts every month. The new scheme will come into effect from December.

Tamil Nadu fertility rate has declined to 1.4% from 2.1%, and the state population is under control, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Monday. He further stated that the rate is expected to further decrease in the next census.

The Supreme Court on November 20 took note of the Tamil Nadu government’s argument that the Constitution does not provide Governor R N Ravi “discretion” to withhold the 10 Bills “re-passed” by the state Legislative Assembly. The Court has adjourned the hearing to December 1.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) recommended that Karnataka needs to ensure flow in the Cauvery to the tune of 3,216 cusecs per day to be realised at Biligundlu for 38 days from November 24. The CWRC, which met in New Delhi on Thursday, said Karnataka needs to ensure stipulated quantities of flow as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s award, modified by the Supreme Court for the stated period.

Differently-abled people and their caregivers held attention-grabbing protests across Tamil Nadu on Monday and demanded state government’s unconditional provision for the magalir urimai thogai (women’s entitlement allowance). Read more

Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) nurses have alleged that the consultation meeting for the transfer of jobs was not held in a transparent manner. The meeting between the various directorates under the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Department and the nurses recruited through the MRB was held from Monday to Wednesday. Read more

A cyclonic circulation formed over the South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood brought heavy rains with thunderstorms to the Northern districts of Tamil Nadu on Saturday morning. Earlier in the week, on Wednesday and Thursday, a deep easterly wave that prevailed over peninsular India brought heavy rainfall in many Western and Southern districts. Read more

NewsClick brings you a round-up of the key developments from Tamil Nadu in the past week.

PROTEST AGAINST AIRPORT INTENSIFIES

Hundreds of residents of Parandur and other neighbouring villages in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district staged a protest on Friday against acquiring farm land along the Chennai-Bengaluru expressway for the Greenfield airport project.

As per the early announcement, the project was supposed to take place on 4,870 acres of land from 13 villages including Eganapuram and Parandur. However, the latest order mentioned that the project will require 5,746 acres of land from 20 villages. Of which 3,774.01 acres are patta lands and the remaining government lands.

STATE, COLLECTORS MOVE COURT 

The Madras High Court on Friday agreed to hear on Monday five writ petitions filed jointly by the state government and the collectors of Ariyalur, Karur, Vellore, Thanjavur and Tiruchi districts challenging the summons issued to them by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on November 17.

Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram made a request for an early hearing of the case since it was related to “interference by the central investigating agency” into affairs that were exclusively within the domain of the state government.

The ED, which is probing alleged massive sand loot in Tamil Nadu, summoned the five district collectors to appear before it and produce details related to sand mines in their respective districts.

'REVOKE GOONDAS ACT AGAINST FARMER'

Representatives of farmers associations, human rights and social activists have demanded that the state government revoke the charged under the Goondas Act against Arul Arumugham, convenor of the Eight Lane Highway Opposition Movement and an advisor to the Farmers Against Melma SIPCOT Movement.

Ruling DMK's ally CPI has also urged the state government to revoke Goondas detention against Arul, one of the protesters in Thiruvannamalai, and release all the arrested farmers.