BJP Tamil Nadu president K. Annamalai on Tuesday said chromium deposits in the industrial town of Ranipet have been affecting its environment, especially the groundwater in residential areas of the town.
Addressing the gathering in Walajah town in Ranipet as part of his “En Mann, En Makkal” padayatra in the district, Mr. Annamalai said that the foundation stone for the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Chromate and Chemicals Ltd. at SIPCOT Industrial Complex in Ranipet town was laid by the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi way back in 1973. Two years later, the DMK chief inaugurated the unit. “Despite the factory being shut down 28 years ago due to pollution, the ill-effects of the chromium factory are still being experienced by residents in Ranipet town. As per one study, Ranipet is among a few districts in the State that has a high prevalence of cancer. This is mainly due to chromium,” he said.
He claimed that the chromium-bearing waste lying on the open land on the premises of the defunct factory had been contaminating groundwater in the 10-km radius.
In its recent order, the Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said that the State government has not done enough to completely remove chromium deposits in the industrial town of Ranipet. “Dravidian political parties, especially the DMK have always been concerned about themselves and not about the welfare of people. Presence of chromium in the town is an example of it,” he said.
The BJP State president slammed Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi, who was elected from Ranipet assembly constituency, and DMK MP from Arakkonam S Jagathrakshakan for not taking forward the centrally sponsored schemes to people in the district. As a result, he said that Ranipet district has one of the lowest number of beneficiaries for centrally-sponsored schemes. Only 7,086 beneficiaries were enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), which provides medical coverage of up to 5 lakh per family in a year, in the district.
Likewise, under the centrally-sponsored honorarium scheme for farmers where the Centre deposits ₹6,000 per farmer per year in three installments, only around 63,000 beneficiaries were enlisted in the district as against around four lakh beneficiaries in neighbouring Tiruvannamalai district, he said.
