Talcher: Attempts by a South Indian firm to establish a coal washery at Samal Bikisar near here in Angul district by ignoring the needs of local employment and peripheral development and keeping the villagers in the dark has sparked sharp resentment among the residents, a report said Monday.
The firm Prakruthik Enterprises Pvt Ltd managed to conduct the ground-breaking ceremony of the plant without the knowledge of the residents.
The coal washery of 2 MT capacity will be built at a plan outlay of Rs 150 crore and would result in direct and indirect employment for 250 persons, company officials said after the bhoomi puja.
The firm, apprehending that its attempt to establish the coal washery might invite public outrage, exercised caution and did not disclose much about the project.
However, the manner in which it conducted the foundation stone-laying ceremony has raised serious doubts among the people. They claimed that the coal washery being built close to Bilinda village, Samal Colony, Ekagharia village, a school, canal and Brahmani river might cause severe pollution.
The matter came to the fore after the firm conducted the bhoomi puja for the foundation laying ceremony May 28.
It is alleged to have gone ahead with its project without seeking the consent of the residents through palli sabha and without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the administration and the state pollution control board (SPCB).
The firm even allegedly fooled the locals by putting up a banner with an image of the Chief Minister on the stage and went on to announce that the latter would inaugurate the plant through video-conferencing.
The residents apprehend that the establishment of the coal washery might lead to severe pollution in the area like Talcher and demanded its immediate closure.
However, its intentions became clear after the foundation stone for the plant was laid by the state commerce and transport minister Nrusingha Sahoo and Talcher MLA Braja Kishore Pradhan in the presence of its director Anjan Bose, vice president Muthu Elango, Talcher sub-collector Paresh Chandra Nayak, SDPO Hemant Kumar Panda, Samal IIC Geetanjali Sahoo, Pallahara MLA’s nominee Budhimanata Sahu and others.
On being informed, the residents led by sarpanch Kalpana Sahu, Harsharam Khilar, Santosh Khilar and Buddhadev Bahadur met the transport minister at the site and voiced their opposition.
This has raised questions as to how the firm could give employment to 250 persons and work on peripheral development in the area when it could not come clean on its plan and only worked at the behest of some agents and political persons.
When contacted on phone (9338573394) at 5. 10pm, general manager terminated the call assuring to speak later.
Pallahara MLA Mahesh Sahu said he was not invited to the function while the residents do not want establishment of the coal washery in the area.
Talcher MLA Pradhan said he attended the function as per the decision taken by the Chief Minister’s office.
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