Farmers in Coimbatore demand fair investigations and revocation of penalties imposed for mineral theft allegations

Farmers protest penalties for alleged illegal mineral extraction in Coimbatore, demand fair inspections and justice from authorities.

Farmers from several villages in Perur Taluk, Coimbatore district, submitted a petition through the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association to the District Collector on Monday and staged a protest against penalties imposed on them following allegations of illegal mineral extraction from their agricultural lands.

In their petition, the farmers explained that land levelling and small pond construction were regular agricultural practices necessary for irrigation, particularly in areas sloping towards the Noyyal. They stated that these activities had been carried out for decades and were not connected to any form of mineral theft.

The farmers said that repeated complaints had been lodged earlier through the association, but no appropriate action was taken at the time. They argued that authorities had now, without proper field inspections, relied on drone surveys to identify supposed violations and recommended heavy penalties against farmers.

According to the farmers, nearly 450 of them have been penalised, despite the absence of clear evidence of external soil removal. They further pointed out that large-scale illegal mining in common lands had previously gone unchecked, while genuine agricultural activities were now being wrongfully penalised.

More than 100 farmers gathered in front of the Collectorate and staged a demonstration, demanding that penalties imposed on innocent farmers be revoked. They also requested that direct field inspections be conducted to identify actual offenders.