NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APR 5
Day after urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exclude coal/lignite mining blocks’ auction in the state’s Cauvery delta region, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday declared in the Assembly that the State government and especially he would, under no circumstances, allow any project that would affect the farmers in that region.
முதலமைச்சராக மட்டுமல்ல, டெல்டாக்காரனாகவும் சொல்கிறேன், காவிரி டெல்டா பகுதிகளில் நிலக்கரிச் சுரங்கம் அமைக்கத் தமிழ்நாடு அரசு நிச்சயம் அனுமதியளிக்காது.
எல்லோரையும்விட இதில் நான் உறுதியாக இருக்கிறேன். pic.twitter.com/LVH7KSb5dP
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 5, 2023
Stalin was responding to a special call attention motion moved by members of all political parties regarding the recent notification by the Union Ministry of Coal, to auction 101 blocks across the country, which include three in Tamil Nadu.
- Tamil Nadu CM writes to PM Modi, red flags auction of coal blocks in fertile Cauvery delta
- All three mining blocks fall in the Cauvery delta area of Tamil Nadu which constitutes the main food producing area of the state: CM
Of the three, East of Sethiathope and Vadaseri fall within the regions protected under the Tamil Nadu Protected Agriculture Zone Development Act, 2020 while Michaelpatti is a major paddy-growing area adjoining a fertile part of the Cauvery delta.
The 3 mining blocks in Cauvery Delta proposed for auction w/o obtaining the concurrence of the state govt is unfortunate. It should be excluded from the bidding process for coal.
I request @PMOIndia & @JoshiPralhad's urgent intervention to rectify the situation & avoid disquiet. pic.twitter.com/1hKfQ7Vt1o
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 4, 2023
Incidentally, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who hail from the Cauvery delta region, on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisting on the exclusion of delta areas from the bidding process for coal to protect the welfare of the farmers in Tamil Nadu.
In his letter, Stalin said that the Nominated Authority under the Ministry of Coal of the Government of India has invited the 17th/7th Tranche of Auction under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2005, Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 for coal and lignite on March 29. Of the total 101 blocks put up for auction across the country, three – East of Sethiathope, Michaelpatti and Vadaseri — are in Tamil Nadu, he said.
The Chief Minister said neither was the concurrence of the state government obtained prior to the floating of the tender nor were they consulted in this matter. “It is unfortunate that the Ministry of Coal, Government of India has proceeded unilaterally with no consultation with the states in such a sensitive matter,” Stalin said.
He claimed that all three mining blocks fall in the Cauvery delta area of Tamil Nadu which constitutes the main food producing area of the state.
