Power plant officials in a bind over jobs

Insights

Editor

posted on 13 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

41
views

CHENNAI: The demand for jobs by locals at an upcoming thermal power station at Vallur, near Ennore here, has put Tamil Nadu ..

CHENNAI: The demand for jobs by locals at an upcoming thermal power station at Vallur, near Ennore here, has put Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) officials in a fix.
After the villagers staged a demonstration on Tuesday against the TNEBNTPC joint venture plant, the Revenue Divisional Officer pacified them by promising intervention of the District Collector by July 10. The locals had threatened to block access to the site if their demands were not met.According to sources in TANGEDCO, the demand for jobs had intensified now with the speeding up of the project.

"They have been resorting to protests on and off. Sometimes, they have prevented even senior officials from entering the site. Now, they are trying to escalate the issue," an official said.

"Work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme may be given to all the seekers. But this is a thermal plant," he stressed.

"This has now become sensitive. We cannot tell them that it could be difficult to give them jobs. However, we are studying if some of them could be accommodated."