Jharsuguda: A House Committee of the State Assembly on resettlement and rehabilitation will visit Jharsuguda district again after Dussehra to sort out the issues related to oustees of the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).
The committee will discuss to find a solution to various issues at a meeting with the Board of Directors of MCL.
Reports said, issues related to resettlement and rehabilitation of people displaced from their original places have been persistent in the mining areas of Lakhanpur, Ib valley, Orient and Vasundhara fields of the MCL.
Despite their agitations, many demands of the displaced have not been fulfilled, it was alleged. Many times law and order situations had arisen due to this problem, they added.
Keeping this in view, a review meeting of the House Committee of the State Assembly has been presided over by Deputy Speaker, Rajani Kant Singh, Monday.
Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik, Brajarajnagar MLA Kishore Kumar Mohanty, Jajpur MLA Preeti Ranjan Ghadei, Keonjhar MLA Mohan Majhi and Hindol MLA Seemarani Nayak were present during the meeting.
Representing MCL in the meeting, Director (Technical) OP Singh, Director (Finance) Basudevan, Director (Personnel) Keshav Rao, Lakhanpur field GM Anil Kumar Singh, Ib Valley GM Anwar Hussein, Orient GM Mehmood Mia, Central workshop GM Krishna Murari Prasad and Vasundhara GM Sanjay Jha were also present.
MCL had notified for land acquisition in 1975 for mining purpose. Although the villagers of Khairakuni, Tingismal, Ubuda, Darlipali were evicted for mining, they have not yet been rehabilitated or provided with any alternative employment, compensation till now, it was alleged.
The MCL authorities have been accused of creating differences among families and taking advantage of the feuds, instead of fulfilling the demands and giving them the rights of the displaced and affected.
The villagers have been on a stir for a period of 44 days at Dirlipali village under Lakhanpur field to get their rights, but the company has given them the cold shoulder.
Brajarajnagar MLA, Mohanty warned the MCL authorities that the day when the resettlement and rehabilitation process will be completed, then only the cut-off date will be decided.
The House panel has decided to visit Jharsuguda after Dussehra to resolve the issues.
PNN
