The Fall of a Behemoth: NLCIL faces steep fall in lignite production and power generation

By Special Correspondent: NLCIL, the state-run mine-to-power major, is faced with a massive fall in its lignite production in the state of Tamil Nadu allegedly due to its cumbersome, and often faulty land acquisition (LAQ) policy.
According to a senior official of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TNGDCO), which is one of the beneficiaries of NLCIL’s power project, Neyveli Thermal Power Station -II, it is the age-old LAQ policy and the complacent management has complicated the matter to such a extent that it looks difficult, if not impossible, for the company to take possession of lands it acquired 15 years back.
NLCIL has been overwhelmed for the last few months with massive resistance from the farmers, youth and women and influential political leaders including Anbumani Ramadoss every time the company has ventured into taking possession of the lands, it has already acquired long back.
According to the data available, the company acquired 304 hectares of land between 2006 and 2015 in six villages for expanding its mining acreages for lignite, the raw material for its power generation unit. Out of these 304 hectares, NLCIL had taken possession of 273 hectares of land and the remaining 31 hectares were left as it was.
Not surprisingly, the farmers, whose lands were taken allegedly by misleading them, did not shun their farming rights to cultivate crops and harvest them in those lands while the LAQ team and Security officials looked “other side”. A deep-rooted corruption on the part of the LAQ management has also allegedly been doing the rounds even as the crisis deepens manifold.
What has made the situation even worse is the company’s terrible public relations overtures and communications to dispel the myth surrounding the environmental impact of the lignite mining, spewed by the vested interests including so call environmental activists and politicians.
A frustrated management, driven by misguided decisions, let loose a bull dozer on the lands on July 26, 2023 to take physical possession of the lands, which were still under cultivation with a large number of farmers, mostly the marginal peasants, involved in it.
“ It was a sheer chaos mixed with panic. But then, suddenly the initial reaction was swooped into an unfathomable crisis with agitation turning into violent protest,” said a local teacher.
Under pressure, the company officials accompanied by the local administration had backed out, but the problem has gone all most out of hand.
The company, which has been the main provider of electricity particularly in the Southern India, has already reported a massive reduction in the lignite production during the first half of the current financial year with over 23 per cent less than that of the production of the corresponding period last year.
As a result, the company’s power generation had taken a proportionate hit with outages becoming a major hiccup in its relationships with the beneficiaries. To be continued …The Fall of a Behemoth: What went wrong how has it impacted