TN govt to auction abandoned emus

12,000 emus were left in the lurch by 21 farms

The Tamil Nadu government is planning to auction emu birds abandoned by 21 companies in and around Erode and Salem districts.

About 12,000 emus were left unattended in farms in the Erode-Salem belt after farm owners took flight following government-ordered raids on illegal investment schemes such as buybacks and circular trading being run around the birds. The scam had resulted in thousands of depositors losing a total of about Rs 1,000 crore.

Government sources said the decision to auction the birds would be announced at the special court dedicated to cases under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act. After the court’s approval, the animal husbandry department would carry out the auction and the proceeds distributed to depositors. Sources said the department had sought Rs 3 crore from the government to feed these birds.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had earlier released Rs 1 crore towards feed for the birds. To maintain the emu farms, the government has also arranged for local labour through village panchayat presidents and local body officials on an ad hoc basis. A report quoting the animal husbandry department stated the cost of maintaining 12,145 birds was Rs 1.13 crore a month. The cost of 50 tonnes of bird feed is about Rs 11 lakh, while Rs 3.5 crore is required to maintain these farms for three months. The department plans to rear the birds in these farms till they are auctioned, the sources added.