NLC India's Neyveli mine has only 46.19 hectares of land left for mining

Who it concerns: NLC India Limited (under the Ministry of Coal, Government of India)

What the auditor found

• Potential revenue loss of ₹338.62 crore due to lignite shortage caused by land constraints in Mine-II during 2022-23.
• Additional expenditure of ₹364.80 crore incurred for removing dumped soil in Mine-IA due to land acquisition issues.
• Avoidable loss of revenue from minor minerals (ball clay, silica sand, fire clay) due to a 20-month delay in applying for a separate mining lease.
• Mine-II operated without a valid Environmental Clearance (EC) due to failure to submit re-validation applications on time.
• Overburden dumps exceeded Environmental Clearance height limits (up to 120 meters in Mine-II vs. 65 meter limit), causing soil slides, damage to equipment, and compensation payments of ₹2.18 crore.
• Failure to install a continuous slope monitoring system as recommended by IIT Varanasi, despite known safety risks.
• Recommendation to expedite land acquisition, install slope monitoring systems, and adhere to dump height limits.

Also in the document

• CAG found that only 46.19 hectares of land remained available for mining, with reserves sufficient for only about 20 months of electricity generation as of March 2023.
• CAG reported that internal dumps in Mine-II reached 50 meters, exceeding the 30-meter safety limit recommended by IIT Varanasi, leading to a soil slide in 2021 that damaged equipment and compromised worker safety.
• CAG noted that NLC India paid ₹2.18 crore in compensation and spent ₹14.98 crore on clearing soil from drains and agricultural lands due to dump violations between 2012 and 2018.