State of protests

Time was when Tamil Nadu was known as a peaceful State that was industry-friendly irrespective of which of the two Dravidian parties was in power. Today, the State has acquired notoriety as a land of protests, especially against industry and development. It all began with Sterlite Industries’ copper smelter in Thoothukudi about a decade ago — ironically, the project is back in news for the same reason with protests breaking out against expansion plans of the company. Koodangulam and opposition to the nuclear power plant set up there with Russian assistance was the next big protest. Alongside, there were agitations against a natural gas pipeline that passed through parts of western Tamil Nadu and the Neduvasal protests where villagers were up in arms against a project to explore hydrocarbons. Never mind that ONGC has been operating in the area for many years now without major incidents. What mattered was the dire predictions of industrial pollution, poisoning of the soil and population casualties painted by activists and vested political interests. The India-based Neutrino Observatory, a particle physics project to study neutrinos that was to be housed in a 1,300 metre deep cave under a hill in south-west Tamil Nadu is now at risk of being moved to Andhra Pradesh following protests over environmental damage that might be caused to surrounding flora.

Not all protests can be dubbed as dubious, though. There is a genuine grievance over the Sterlite project where the company stands accused of cutting corners in its quest for expansion of capacity. Yet, the overall signal going out is that of a State that is not friendly any more to industry. This is dangerous as there are others — notably neighbouring Andhra Pradesh which is hungry for investment and is rolling out the red carpet — waiting to grab the space vacated by Tamil Nadu. The decline in governance over the last few years, and the absence of a strong leadership after the demise of J Jayalalithaa is particularly worrying in this context. With the incumbent government seen weak, activists, fringe groups and vested interests incite trouble. A good example is how these interest groups converged to stop IPL matches from being played in Chennai on the excuse of the Centre not notifying the Cauvery management board. The loss was as much that of the local economy as that of IPLs.

The current political leadership in the State has to wrest back control from the fringe groups and activists. What is needed is a display of firm resolve in tackling the issues thrown up by these groups both politically and administratively. Else, the State’s future development is at risk.

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