Bhubaneswar/Sambalpur: State-owned Navratna company, NLC India, said it has offered a rehabilitation and resettlement package to project affected families at its two coal blocks in the state involving higher financial compensation than the norms prescribed by the state government.
The special package has been welcomed by stakeholders including villagers in Talabira II and III coal blocks in Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts, the company said in a statement.
As a gesture of gratitude towards the iconic freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai, NLC India Ltd will also develop his birthplace as a tourist destination at Khinda involving the state tourism department, it said.
NLC will produce 20 million tonnes of coal per annum from Talabira II and III Coal Blocks to fuel its 4,200 MW of thermal power projects.
It will enable in electrifying lakhs of households and commercial establishments through 3,200 MW of NLC Talabira Thermal Power Project in Odisha and NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited’s 1,000 MW project in Tuticorin district.
Company officials explained the specially designed rehabilitation and resettlement package to the beneficiaries in the presence of officials of the district administration during a tripartite meeting.
District Collector Shubham Saxena, Police DIG (North) Himanshu Lal, SP Kanwar Vishal Singh, Sub-Collector Aniruddha Padhan, Land Acquisition Officer Saroj Mishra were present in the meeting.
The displaced families personally presented their problems and demands before the administrative officials and officials of NLC in the meeting. After discussion for five hours the company officials and administration agreed upon the demands of the displaced families.
The revised compensation package offered by the company is higher than the prescribed norms under the Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy, 2006 and Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Families residing in the two coal block areas will be given significant compensation for their land at a rationalised market value to draw parity among the villages. Eligible families will get pucca houses with 1,067 square feet of super built-up area, the company statement said.
To provide sustainable living in lieu of employment, families with eligible adult members will be given lump sum payment in addition to the monthly financial assistance of Rs 3,000 with a biennial increase of Rs 500, as suggested by the district authorities.
In another provision, cash in lieu of employment for different categories of project affected families has been raised from Rs 3,40,000 to Rs 6,00,000 now.
The rehabilitation package was also designed for settlers and landless people will be provided with a housing unit of 300 square feet as per Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 or equivalent cost of about Rs 6 lakh, it said.
NLC Limited values the contribution of locals in ensuring energy security for the nation and we are committed for their betterment. Sustainable development, environment protection and eco-care are blended into every act of our business, a senior NLC official said.
“We are confident that the proposed package will set new benchmarks for infrastructure and mining projects and it will bring development at the doorsteps of the far-flung rural areas,” the official added.
Land acquisition starts
Sambalpur: A day after the stalemate over the proposed coal mining by NLC India at Talabira was shorted out through tripartite talks, land acquisition for the project was started Friday amid tight security arrangements. Eight police platoons were deployed during the land acquisition. The Odisha Forest Development Corporation and the company authorities started felling trees to make space for the project, in the presence of the top police officials. The Odisha Forest Development Corporation has done a survey in the area and identified 17,704 trees to be felled for the project.