TN: Villagers oppose tungsten mining in Arithapatti, urge govt to declare Biodiversity Park

Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 11 (ANI): Following the passage of a special resolution in the Tamil Nadu assembly opposing the tungsten mining project, farmers and members of the Anti-Tungsten Mining Project Association welcomed the move and reiterated their demand to declare 48 villages, including Arithapatti, in Madurai district as a protected biodiversity and agricultural zone.
Arithapatti was declared Tamil Nadu's first biodiversity heritage site in 2022. The region, which encompasses seven hills, is home to numerous ancient monuments, including the Samanar Parai rock-cut temple and Vatteluttu inscriptions. It also hosts rare bird species, such as the Rasaali Parrot.

Despite this, Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of the Vedanta group, has secured a tender to initiate tungsten mining in the region, which has been approved by the central government. This move has sparked strong opposition from the residents.
The locals have been protesting against this project, and a special resolution was passed in the state assembly yesterday opposing the mine.
However, the people of 48 villages, including Arithapatti, are demanding that their region be declared a protected biodiversity and agricultural zone. They urge the government to issue a formal order to safeguard the area from the mining activities.
Partipan, a local villager and a farmer said that the government passed a resolution but they are doubtful about the effectiveness of the resolution in protecting villages from the mining.

"The Tamil Nadu government has passed a resolution in the assembly against the tungsten mining project. However, we are unsure how effective this resolution will be in protecting our village. In the past, when there were protests against hydrocarbon projects in the Delta districts, the Tamil Nadu government declared those districts as protected agricultural zones, which helped safeguard them," he said.
"Similarly, we request the Tamil Nadu government to declare our villages as protected biodiversity and agricultural zones, which will help protect them from the mining project," he added.
Apart from that, Kumaran, a member of the Anti-Tungsten Mining Project Association, further emphasised their demands and stated that they would want the Centre to cancel the auction completely.
"The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution opposing the tungsten mining in Melur. This resolution has been supported by all parties in Tamil Nadu, which is a welcome move. Our complete demand is that the central government should cancel the auction completely. During the hydrocarbon project in the Delta districts, the government declared the area a protected agricultural zone and issued a government order, following which the project was abandoned," he said.
Kumaran also pointed out the potential environmental and agricultural impacts of the mining project. "The villages surrounding Melur are Mullai Periyar irrigation agricultural lands, and Arithapatti village has ancient Tamil inscriptions and Jain worship sites. If mining activities are carried out in this area, agriculture and natural resources will be destroyed. The central government should withdraw this announcement, and the Tamil Nadu government should declare this area a protected agricultural zone and save it," he added.
As protests continue, villagers remain hopeful that their demands will be heard and acted upon to prevent any damage to their heritage, biodiversity, and agriculture. (ANI)