Neyveli is a mining and power generation township in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located at 11.533° N - 79.48° E and has Panruti as Taluk headquarters . It is 62 kilometres (39 mi) inland from Bay of Bengal, west of Pondicherryand 197 kilometres (122 mi) south of Chennai, located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Vadalur. The Neyveli Township was developed after mining of lignite started under the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) in 1956 some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the original Neyveli Village . Today the Township covers 53 square kilometres provide around 18,000 houses for the employees.

The Neyveli Lignite Corporation is a public sector enterprise operating out of Neyveli. A large percentage of the thermal powergenerated in Tamil Nadu comes from the power plants in Neyveli. NLC contributes about 2,500 megawatts and another 250 megawatts of Themal power is by Saudi based TAQA Neyveli in Uthangal. The town of Neyveli is well known to locals for its goat herding history. Goats from all over the Cuddalore district are brought to Neyveli bygoatherders.

History

Borewells driven in the now famous peasant Mr Jambulinga Mudhaliyar's land in 1935 revealed the presence of 'black particles'. The analysis of the 'black particles' led to the discovery of a huge lignite reserve beneath the areas in and around Neyveli Village. The Neyveli Lignite Corporation was formed as a Corporate Body in 1956 under the Government of India. It is still a Central Government Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). Mining of first lignite seam started in 1962. The first thermal power station was commissioned in 1962 with full assistance from U.S.S.R ( Russia ) @ a capacity of 600 MW. The current capacity of the thermal power stations in Neyveli exceeds 2800 MW.

Geography

Neyveli Township is located at 11.60°N 79.48°E.^[1] It has an average elevation of 87 metres (285 ft). It is well connected by road along the Chennai-Thanjavur NH 45C National Highway and Cuddalore-Virudhachalam-Salem NH-532 National Highway. A dedicated rail track with a Railway station was constructed to transport Lignite, heavy machineries for the mining and the power generation industries.

Climate

Contrasting to the adjacent arid regions of Cuddalore district, the township of Neyveli boasts a low-moderate tropical climate, mainly due to the rich flora planted as part of the landscaping during the development of the township. Summers are cooler (temperatures still reach above 40degrees Celsius) and winters are colder than the nearby regions, even though the township is at the same altitude with them. It has red soil, which is quite fertile.

Layout

The Township of Neyveli is one of the modern, well-planned townships in India, and can be compared to the likes of Chandigarh, New York. The township was in fact planned just like the city of Chandigarh, New York City with the township being sub-divided into 'blocks'. There are 32 blocks in total. Each block is 1000 m by 700 m in size. The main roads of Neyveli Township dividing each of the blocks by double-lane modern roads are constructed with rubberised top layer. The housing quarters are around 15,000 in number and vary between hostel-type buildings with 6 apartments to individual two-floor single cottage type quarters. The houses were originally constructed using concrete, while newer buildings are constructed using 'hollow blocks' cast from flyash which is a by-product of lignite. The technique is being used as an initiative to re-use the by-products of lignite effectively.

Neyveli Township can be termed as one of the modern industrial townships of India, with round-the-clock, water and electricity facilities. It also uses well-maintained, underground sanitation system, unlike some of the other cities in Tamil Nadu. At the dawn of the new millennium, the overhead communication cables were replaced by the underground cable communication system, with state-of-the-art optical cables. Neyveli Township has its own telecom system, complete with company-owned telephone exchanges, for faster communication between employees of the township.

Neyveli also have 2,000 temporary Housing quarters near Neyveli Railway station namely M.K Colony, G.K Colony, Sainik Quarters, J.E Quarters &Thandavankuppam Colony . It is 7 km south of Township & NLC Employees working in Mine-2 stay here as it is just 1.5 km away. These housing colonies are also administered by Township Administration (TA)

There many Villages around Neyveli Township like, Neyveli (Old Neyveli), Mandharakuppam, Gangaikondan, Periyakurichi, Veppankurichi, Vadakkuvellur, Therkkuvellur, Valaimadevi, Ameri, Melpaathi, Kelpaathi, Thenpaathi, Thenkuthu, Uthangal, Oomangalam, A.Kuravankuppam, Uyyakondaraavi, Pudukuppam, Irruppu, Dhedeerkuppam, Pazhaya Koorapettai, Sepalanatham, Thandavankuppam, Koonakurichi, Thoppulikuppam, Romapuri, Athipattu, Aandarkollai, Paapanampattu, Elavarasampattu, Velludaiyanpattu etc. These Villages not just share PINCODES of Neyveli but also the primary reason behind success of NLC by giving their precious Homes, lands, livelihood and the Name Neyveli to the NLC's Mines, Thermal Power Stations and Township.