Telangana guv questions Tamil Nadu over NLC project
Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday questioned the reason for gaps between the state and the management over NLC land acquisition issue
Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan on Sunday questioned why the NLC (Neyveli Lignite Corporation) India Limited began work only last week after acquiring lands a decade ago and putting farmers at difficulty now even as the state police refused permission for protests, people familiar with the matter said.
She was speaking in the aftermath of violent protests aimed at stalling the NLC India Limited, a central public sector enterprise’s work in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district. “We need to see where the gap has been in terms of administration between the state government, management of NLC and the farmers (who have cultivated in this land over the past decade),” Soundararajan, former BJP state president of Tamil Nadu told reporters in Cuddalore. “Neyveli (NLC) management is saying they have already acquired these lands. Government is saying there were instructions not to cultivate here. So where was the gap here? Now that crops have grown, let them wait (for farmers to harvest) instead of destroying them.”
Last Wednesday, the work towards taking possession of the lands which the agency had acquired for mine expansion long back, began to lead to protests by farmers whose fertile lands were being mowed down. The farmers are backed by all the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu including the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On being denied permission to go on a hunger strike on Sunday, AIADMK MLA from Cuddalore district, A Arunmozhithevan said that the government is going against farmers and siding with NLC. “There is an 100% probability that the state is against farmers,” said Arunmozhithevan . “The police have given a written instruction denying us permission. They may have stopped us today but Tamil people will gather at the right time and teach them a lesson.”
Cadres of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) turned the protests violent on Friday. A few police officer and bystanders sustained injuries and police fired shots in the air, used water cannons to bring the situation under control last Friday. A day ago, the Tamil Nadu police arrested 28 people and registered cases against 98 people. On Friday, the police had briefly detained PMK founder and former union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss and released him later. “The government should stop acquiring land for NLC,” Ramadoss said on Saturday.
The state has so far said that the opposition particularly, the PMK, is using the farmers for political mileage. NLC caters to the power demand of Tamil Nadu. “Any setback to NLC would lead to a critical situation as power generation will be hit,” said finance minister Thangam Thennarasu who is also handling the portfolio of electricity. “We will not get uninterrupted power supply if the generation at NLC is affected,” he said, adding that farmers have been assured of enhanced compensation.
