NLC begins canal diversion work for expansion of mines in TN’s Cuddalore district, faces stiff protest

A group of farmers protested against the NLCIL’s move to take over the land they had used for paddy cultivation, however, amid tight police security, despite the request of the farmers to provide more time to harvest the crops, the NLCIL went ahead with their drive and uprooted the crops. The video of the drive was shared widely on social media.

Opposition leaders, including AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, BJP state president K Annamalai and DMDK leader Vijayakant, have condemned the initiative of NLC to destroy the crops.

The cadres of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) staged a road-roko against the project and were detained by the police. There have been instances of stone pelting at buses near Cuddalore as well.

Ramadoss issued a statement wherein he noted that under his leadership, their party members will stage a demonstration on Thursday demanding the NLCIL to drop their plan to take possession of farm lands.

As per reports, the NLCIL had acquired 304 hectare of land for the expansion of the project from villages, including Valayamadevi Mel Pathi, Valayamedevi Keezh Pathi, Kathazhai among others.

The farmers have been demanding that NLC should equally compensate for all the lands they had acquired and at least one of their family members should be given employment in NLCIL.

Addressing the reporters on Wednesday, Cuddalore district Collector Arun Thamburaj said the land owners were provided compensation by the NLC for the acquisition done between 2006-2013. He noted that despite acquiring the land, the NLC did not take possession of it and allowed the farmers to cultivate for the next 10 years on humanitarian grounds.

He said in December 2022, the farmers were advised by the district administration not to do farming on the land as the NLCIL would be taking over it for the expansion work.

The collector said they have held close to 10 meetings in the past 1.5 months over this issue with the land owners. “We advised them not to carry out the cultivation. However, some of them did, leading to crop losses. We will provide compensation for that too,” he said.

The Collector noted that the district administration has been transparent on this incident. He added that they have set up camps for the land owners to receive their compensation and a grievance committee to resolve any issue they face.