Mixed response from farmers and villagers on the integrated textile park in Salem
Residents and farmers in Salem are demanding further clarification after the government announced that dyeing units will be excluded from a planned integrated textile park. While the decision is welcomed, concerns remain regarding the long-term commitment of the government and the land usage policy.
Why it matters
This reflects the tension between industrial development and environmental/agricultural preservation in local communities.
Following the announcement made by District Collector K. Elambahavath that dyeing and processing units will not be allowed in the integrated textile park, farmers and residents are demanding clarification on this issue.
The previous DMK government identified 119 acres of land at Jahir Ammapalayam in Salem to establish an integrated textile park at a cost of ₹880 crore. As part of the project, dyeing units were to be operated, under the name of Salem Yarn Colouring Park (SYCP), in the same location as the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP). But alleging that the colouring park would affect the groundwater and farming in 40 villages in and around the park, farmers and villagers staged various protests over the past year, following which works of the textile park come to a halt, and only the administrative office was constructed.
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