The entire Cuddalore district has been identified and declared as mine-affected area by the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT), Cuddalore, Union Minister of Mines, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs Prahlad Joshi has informed the Rajya Sabha.
PMK MP Anbumani Ramadoss sought to know whether there was any policy proposal to prepare District Mineral Foundation (DMF) five-year perspective plan for Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), Cuddalore district.
The Minister replied that the whole district was declared a mine-affected area considering the adverse impact of mining of lignite and other minerals by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC).
The Minister said the requirements of the mine-affected area and the people are identified in consultation with the local bodies, through implementing agencies. He said various projects were being undertaken to meet the most pressing requirements of the public in the area, such as drinking water, health, education, infrastructure among others.
“As on June 30, 2022, 170 projects have been taken up at a total cost of ₹292.15 crore out of which 122 projects at a cost of ₹190.91 crore have been completed and 48 projects estimated to cost ₹101.25 crore are under progress,” he said.
Further, based on information received from the Tamil Nadu government, ₹427.81 crore has been collected from NLC India Ltd. for the Cuddalore District Mineral Foundation. Out of a total collection of ₹447.84 crore, ₹292.15 crore has been allocated and ₹278.16 crore of the allotted amount has been spent in the past five years for the mining-affected areas in the Cuddalore district, which is 68.29% and 65.02% of the fund collected from NLC India Ltd, the Minister said.
