PMK to campaign against Neyveli Lignite Corporation's mining in Cuddalore

Chennai, Aug 14 (IANS) Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the political arm of the Vanniyar community, will be extensively campaigning against the Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Ltd (NLCIL) taking up lignite mining in Cuddalore district of the state.

PMK President Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss in a recent high-level leadership meet of the party said that the party will highlight the NLCIL carrying out lignite mining in many Delta districts including Cuddalore.

The PMK leader said that the NLCIL was determined to open its Mine- III in 12,500 acres in the Cauvery Delta region and that this would turn the fertile Delta region into a barren land.

He said that of 26 villages in the Cauvery Delta region, nine are under protected agricultural zone and that the indiscriminate mining would convert fertile agricultural lands into barren lands.

It is to be noted that in the past one year, there have been protests in the Cuddalore district areas against the move of the Central Public Sector Enterprise to take over agricultural lands that had been acquired more than a decade ago for the expansion of the Central PSU.

NLCIL acquired as many as 304 hectares of land between 2006 and 2015 in six villages abutting the mines. Of this, the company has taken possession of 273 hectares of land while 31 hectares remained unutilised. The farmers continued to cultivate crops over the years on this 31 hectares of land and used to harvest it.

In July 2023, bulldozers entered the agricultural lands to uproot the crops in a move to take over the acquired land leading to massive protests and PMK taking over the issue. Other than this, the NLCIL is planning a major expansion by taking over 12,500 acres of fertile land for its Mine -III project in lignite mining.

There have been protests against NLCIL to temporarily halt the ongoing drive to take possession of the lands and give the landowners time to harvest the crop.

Ramadoss led a massive protest in Cuddalore on July 27, 2023 and the protest turned violent as some of the protestors hurled stones at the police. Police arrested Anbumani and many party workers.

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