Following increasing pressure from farmers, political figures, and civic society organisations, the Tamil Nadu Government formally withdrew its sanction to the proposed increase of a Rs. 500-crore private textile processing unit at Akkaraikodiveri village near the ecologically sensitive Kodiveri Anicut in Gobichettipalayam taluk.
The reversal is the result of long-standing resistance led by the Kodiveri Dam–Bhavani River Irrigation Farmers Association, president of which, Subi Thalapathi, called the Bhavani River the “lifeline of western Tamil Nadu,” supporting more than one crore individuals and irrigating over three lakh acres of agricultural land. The association cautioned that the projected dyeing and washing unit would further aggravate the area’s worsening pollution situation, which is already compounded by untreated industrial effluents and sewage dumping.
Despite loud outcry and filing of several petitions, the state Government’s Department of Environment and Climate Change had approved the project on 26th November 2024, through Government Order (3D) No. 9. In turn, the farmers’ organisation intensified its campaign, submitting 15 years of records detailing the company’s regulatory violations and non-conformity of pollution control norms.
The matter was also brought to the State Assembly by former Minister and Gobichettipalayam MLA K.A. Sengottaiyan, who reflected environmental and public anxiety regarding the site of the project and its possible effect. On 27th March 2025, officials of the farmers’ association met the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin along with other senior ministers and presented a comprehensive memorandum that led the Government to order an official review.
Following evidence from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s investigation, the Department of Environment and Climate Change issued a 10th June 2025 order, formally revoking the prior authorisation.
