Minister for Public Works E.V. Velu, who represents the Tiruvannamalai Assembly constituency, on Friday said the majority of the farmers had agreed to the acquisition of their land by SIPCOT in Melma and surrounding villages in the district, while “only a few were being instigated by outsiders to protest”.
He was responding to criticisms against the State government for booking some protesting farmers under the Goondas Act. Addressing the media in Tiruvannamalai, he said that while about 1,200 acres of land was being acquired for SIPCOT from over 1,800 farmers, only around 240 farmers had objected to the acquisition. The farmers were being paid 2.5 times the market price for their land, he added.
He particularly blamed a person from Krishnagiri district for instigating the farmers and claimed that one of the arrested persons was taking part in the protest, though he did not own any land.
