Many farmers in Pochampalli SIPCOT not compensated according to records, says survey report

As many as 76 farmers who contributed their land to the Pochampalli SIPCOT in Krishnagiri have been compensated only ₹14,000 to ₹17,000 per acre, instead of the ₹43,000 per acre as declared in the records of SIPCOT, according to a survey released here on Wednesday.

A total of 215 persons were interviewed in the survey conducted by the Forum for Indian Women Intellect (FIWI) in 18 villages adjacent to the SIPCOT complex.

Led by its founder and retired IAS officer P. Sivakami, the forum said there was a need to monitor and audit the SIPCOT complexes, as they affected the quality of life.

The survey said most of the respondents suffered from health issues such as respiratory distress, skin inflammation, and eye irritation due to the industrial smoke.

“Doctors at the nearby hospital confirmed that many people visited the facility daily for skin issues caused by the pollution,” Ms. Sivakami said.

The other concerns were water scarcity and degrading quality of groundwater. Though the residents had lodged complaints and protested against the environmental pollution, no action was taken by the State, the survey said. Since it was mostly women who were employed at the SIPCOT, they complained of knee pain as they had to work standing up for over 12 hours.

The survey also said that out of the 147 units in SIPCOT, only 45 units were operational, while the other 50 were under construction. “As a large extent of land lies vacant and many people in the village are unemployed, the State could look at setting up cottage industries or processing units for coconut coir, mango pulp, and tomato puree,” the survey said.

It also recommended that medical infrastructure be arranged, with special attention to respiratory issues and weekly medical camps.

The survey also demanded a law to provide 75% of employment to local people and the abolition of the temporary contract system.