In October 2022, residents of Alvanthankulam and six other villages came together to protest against a solar power plant that was proposed to be set up in those villages of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
In July 2022, the Tamil Nadu government released a gazette notification for acquiring lands owned by members of the Scheduled Caste community of the village for setting up a greenfield 4GW Solar Cell and 4GW Solar Module manufacturing plant in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. The Rs 3,500-crore plant by the Tata Power was proposed to be set up on 1,500 acres, the acquisition of 329.92 acres of Panchami lands. The community members alleged that these Panchami lands are primarily used for grazing by cattle and other livestock and it was allegedly handed over to members of the Scheduled Caste by the British in 1892.
Since the economy of livestock sustained several livelihoods in the area, community members expressed concern about the disruption that the project might cause on their source of income. During the protest, residents of seven villages demanded the government to call off the project and withdraw the gazette notification issued for land acquisition.
On 7 September 2023, C Anand Raj from Madurai petitioned Malur taluk's Tahsildar regarding the land rights of the Scheduled Caste community over 'Panchami lands' and impacts of the proposed Solar Module manufacturing plant by Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited. After getting no response from Tahsildar, he filed a case in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on 29 September, 2023. Following which, the court directed the Tirunelveli District Collector to dispose of a representation made against the land acquisition.
On 15 August and 2 October 2023, the Pallikottai village panchayat’s gram sabha passed two resolutions against grazing land acquisition.
District Collector KP Karthikeyan, in a response dated 3 January 2024, stated that the land in question was not a Panchami land. He added that only 342.18 acres out of the total 406.97 acres would be acquired for the project and the remaining 64.79 acres would be enough for grazing. The reply stated it was a barren land with no agricultural activity happening for over 30 years.
The petitioner, however, told the court thad residents of Pallikottai, Nellaithiruthu, Pirancheri, Thenkalam Puthur, Rajapathi, Chittar Chatram, Gangaikondan, Thuraiyur and Alavanthankulam were using the land for grazing.
On 26 January 2024, 3,000 families from Alavanthankulam and surrounding village in Tirunelveli district staged black flag protest against the land acquisition of the community grazing lands. More than 20,000 families from 10 villagers are likely to be affected by this project. The company has proposed to provide 2,000 jobs.
Despite the protest, the project is ongoing and is expected to completed by 2024-2025.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand to cancel the project
Refusal to give up land for the project
Demand to retain/protect access to common land/resources
Demand for legal recognition of land rights
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Abandon Land Acquiring process and take back the Gazette Notification
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Project underway despite protests
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
No
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Grazing, Agricultural land
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
3500
Type of investment:
Investment Expected
Year of Estimation
2022
Has the Conflict Ended?
No
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
Yes
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Non-consultation with stakeholders
Controversial land acquisition by the government
Lack of legal protection over land rights
Legal Status:
Out of Court
Status of Case In Court
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
No
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
Case Number
W.P.(MD)No.24104 of 2023
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
No
Reported Details of the Violation:
Date of Violation
Location of Violation
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
District Administration, Panchayat Administration (Village), Tamil Nadu Industries Department, Tamil Nadu Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
No
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Tata Power, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (funding)
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
Dalit communities whose lands were due to be acquired
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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Viswanathan is a creative individual whose interests lie at the intersection of architecture, urban development, and design. His research interests include issues of urban development, housing, water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and land. As an upcoming architect and urban development practitioner, he thrives on crafting visionary spaces and shaping vibrant communities. His diverse portfolio showcases his expertise across various disciplines, making him a true Renaissance professional. With him, the worlds of architecture, design, and social entrepreneurship unite, forming an individual dedicated to shaping the future and inspiring others to think beyond the ordinary.
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