Click to play videoChennai: It's the new age gold rush! Realty developers and wealthy residents in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are rushing to buy land in the Western Ghats, lured by the promise of gold — this is because official surveys for the yellow metal have recently been made on in a belt that spreads from Anagatti in Tamil Nadu, to Idukki in Kerala.
Says an environmentalist, Basheer, "The Geographical Survey of India has said there are gold deposits worth Rs 6,000 crore in this area. Because the cost of extracting the gold is higher than the value of the gold itself, the project of extraction has been dropped. Deccan Gold, an Australian private firm has also surveyed this area but has come to the same conclusion."
However, people seem to be unaware that the gold deposits here are commercially not viable.
The smell of money is too much to handle. Residents here have taken it upon themselves to take rock samples for independent analysis.
The area from Anagatti to Idukki is forest land, in the mountains and no pattas are issued for this land to the tribals. But now, documents have surfaced — forged by people desperate to own land here.
Says an activist, Sukumar, "No one has announced whether there is gold here or not. Now tribal land here, which is worth just Rs 20,000 crore is being bought for just Rs 2 to 3 lakh. These people are cheating the tribals. Land is going into the hands of the mafia in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karanataka. Politicians are creating benami identities and buying this land. We need to protect the tribals from this."
Activists are asking the state govt to make a formal announcement on the gold deposits here so that environmental damage to the already ravaged Ghats is minimised.
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