CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the precarious situation prevailing in the Neyveli Power Station complex due to the ongoing strike by its workers and sought his urgent intervention to resolve the crisis.
“Any further delay in the matter would adversely affect the power supply situation in Tamil Nadu and the Southern States”, she pointed out in her letter to the Prime Minister.
Recalling her earlier letter to the Prime Minister in this regard on July 22, she said no positive development had come from the Coal Ministry to bring to an end the strike of workers of both recognised and non-recognised trade unions since July 20 seeking an early and satisfactory wage revision settlement.
“Currently, the workers have resorted to picketing against officers and contract workers, which would effectively stop mining of lignite and power generation. Neyveli Lignite Corporation is one of the main suppliers of power to Tamil Nadu and supplies about 1450 MW of power to the State and as a result of the ongoing strike, it is apprehended that about 2,990 MW of power production would be affected and Tamil Nadu alone will lose about 1450 MW of power”, the Chief Minister added.
She also reiterated her request to Prime Minister Modi to instruct the Coal Ministry to immediately look into the grievances of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation workers and settle the issue amicably.
It may be recalled that wage revision in the public sector giant is implemented once every five years. However, the last revision was made in the year 2007.