The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on August 10 issued notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) over reports of pollution risk for villages around Neyveli Lignite Corporation of India Limited (NLCIL).
The NGT has taken a suo moto cognisance of news reports based on an environmental study on quality of effluents from NLCIL and their thermal plants in Neyveli and Parangipettai.
The study, done by Poovulagin Nanbargal and Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, found high levels of mercury, selenium, and flouride in drinking water from as many as 20 locations in Neyveli. As per the study, in Tholkappiar Nagar, Vadakkuvellur, the mercury content in the borewell used for drinking was 250 times above the permissible limit.
