Fishermen living on unsurveyed government lands refuse to give land for shipbuilding yard
Fishermen in Thoothukudi are resisting the government's plan to acquire land for a new green shipbuilding yard. While the government offers rehabilitation packages, residents and salt pan leaseholders are protesting the displacement.
Why it matters
Large-scale industrial projects frequently clash with local land rights and traditional livelihoods, creating significant social and economic friction.
The first round of talks held here on Tuesday with the fishermen, who have built their houses on unsurveyed government lands, failed as they refused to give their lands for the proposed green shipbuilding yard coming up on the outskirts of this port town.
As the Tamil Nadu Government has proposed to create green shipbuilding yard at Mullakkaadu on the Thoothukudi outskirts on an outlay of ₹30,000 crore, over 1,700 acres of land – mostly government poramboke lands - has been identified for this project.
As these lands in Mullakadu I, Mullakadu II and Pazhayakayal villages have been given on lease for salt pans, the owners of these salt pans and the workers are staging a series of protests against the move to acquire the land for creating shipbuilding yard. They even attempted to lay siege to the District Collectorate on Monday.
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