Hazaribag’s Barkagaon block is boiling again as locals displaced by the Pakri-Barwadih coal mining project of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) have forced the mine operations to close since July 6 demanding monetary compensation from the management of the PSU.
While the PSU bleeds heavily every day in terms of income, the landowners (raiyyats), led by Congressional Barkagaon MLA Amba Prasad, have refused to give in unless their fees are charged and demands are met. Prasad also met with Chief Minister Hemant Soren on a number of occasions to express their concerns.
“More than 8,000 raiyyats have been suffering economically because of NTPC’s rehabilitation policy, under which proper dues as per the 2013 Act (Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Settlement) have not been paid,” Prasad told TOI.
Prasad, whose former legislator parents, Yogendra Saw and Nirmala Devi, led the 2016 agitation against the NTPC project, also alleged that NTPC did not provide the raiyyats with employment and instead outsourced the coal mining on-site work and dispatched it to a company called Tribheni Sainik, which in turn employed outsiders. “A monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 must be given to land losers who were not employed by the NTPC. Raiyyats do not allow work to begin until their demands are met, “Prasad added.
With rising pressure, the government of Hemant Soren recently created a high-level committee under North Chotanagpur commissioner Kamal John Lakra. The committee, which was formed following a meeting between NTPC officials, Raiyyats’ delegation, Bhuvanesh Pratap Singh, Deputy Commissioner for Hazaribag, and K K K Soan, State Land Reform and Revenue Secretary in Ranchi, is expected to investigate the matter and report to the government.
Although the management of the NTPC did not comment on the ongoing dispute, a well-placed source in the mining project reported that the closure of the work resulted in revenue losses of Rs 1 crore daily.
In Ranchi, former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay stood behind the Barkagaon locals. Criticizing the erstwhile Raghubar Das government and the Centre, Sahay said, “The Jharkhand government must find a permanent solution to the problems of Barkagaon’s people at once.”
