Nagpur: More than a year after toxic fly-ash destroyed farmland in Waregaon, state power generation company Mahagenco handed over compensation to affected farmers on Wednesday.
As reported earlier, 11 farmers were impacted after fly-ash slurry overflowed and entered their agricultural fields in July last year. The overflow happened near the company’s new pump house, where small ponds were reportedly built to collect excess ash water from the Waregaon bund of Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station.
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24 April 2025
After the incident, Nagpur-based NGO Centre for Sustainable Development (CFSD) intervened, following which a panchnama was conducted in October last year.
According to farmers, overflowing ash has been a regular occurrence in the village, especially during the monsoon. Last month too, the Waregaon ash bund saw a major breach, flooding at least 15 agricultural fields.
Burdened by financial losses due to extensive crop damage, the affected farmers are not allowing the power plant officials to lift the overflown ash from their fields. “If they start lifting it using JCB, the few crops that have survived will also get destroyed. Moreover, we will also lose the top layer of our soil, which is fertile. So, we have asked the officials to lift the ash in the next summer season,” they said.
Environmentalists fear that these farmers too might get compensation only next year. “The bund is constantly overflowing because it is completely full due to failure of the company in utilising fly-ash,” said CFSD founder Leena Buddhe.
A Mahagenco spokesperson said that the company is awaiting the finalized compensation amount from the revenue department.
The administration released a fund of Rs 1.82 lakh as compensation for affected farmers. Pawan Deepak Gupta, Sanjay Fakirchand Gurav, Deorao Gangaram Pande, Jivatu Govinda Deure, Ketan Ishwar Araspure, Shriram Gondane, Sarla Deshpande, Ghanshyam Gharat, Mohd Nawab Sheikh, Shobha Girish and Nayana Farkase are the affected farmers who got compensation at a programme held at Waregaon village.
The Waregaon ash bund breach has been happening every year during monsoon, at least for the past two years. This year too, in June, the ash bund breach led to loss to nine farmers, as fly ash water entered their fields. Since the 11 farmers, who got affected last year, and received the compensation on Wednesday, the 9 farmers hit this year may have to wait for their turn to get compensated by the administration till next year.
