Teams from various political parties are crisscrossing Tirunelveli, a southern district in Tamil Nadu and venue of the Tata titanium dioxide project, eliciting views from the public following a furore over the state Government sanctioning the Rs 2,500 crore venture.

The hectic activity by an official team, besides AIADMK and Congress delegations, caused some tension in the district. The police feared untoward incidents as the teams virtually passed each other in the seven revenue villages where the Tata Group proposed to acquire 12,000 acres for its project.

Concerned by the furore created over the recent signing of an MoU for the Tata project by activists in Tirunelveli and various political parties, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi put it on hold, dispatching an official team to gather public opinion instead.

“The Chief Minister is clear that there will be no forced land acquisition,” the official team led by Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy said. “It will be only through discussions. Farmers need not fear any consequences,” he added. A questionnaire was circulated at the public hearings, which would be held on Tuesday as well, containing queries regarding their views about the project and reasons for their objections, if any.

Farmers, who want the land price to be directly negotiated with them, expressed apprehensions that the actual value of land was much more than the recently revised guideline value. “If Tatas give us a good rate, we are willing,” some farmers reportedly told the team.

Meanwhile, a team led by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leader M Krishnasamy, which did the rounds of some villages, was of the opinion that the party was not for anything that went against the people. “There were some people who wanted to give land. Several who did not want to do so. They expressed apprehensions about the project leading to a depleted water table and wanted ro know whether the villagers would be given jobs,” pointed out Congress legislator and team member Peter Alphonse. The team will submit a report to the Chief Minister.

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