State of Play
Neyveli has always been a dusty town in Cuddalore district in northern Tamil Nadu, and it built its reputation from its lignite reserves that helped to generate electricity. However, protests last week, which turned violent, have hit NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL)’s mining expansion plans at Neyveli. Farmers and political parties are objecting to its recent land acquisition exercise that is at the heart of the raging controversy in the district.
A row began at Melvalayamadevi after NLCIL moved to take possession of land, acquired a decade ago, by flattening standing paddy crops. When NLCIL officials arrived with a fleet of earthmovers to take possession of land in which lush paddy crops were standing, the farmers protested vociferously. The destruction of standing crops that were to be harvested in two months, the farmers fumed, was nothing but an act of “outrage and insensitivity.”
