Jharsuguda: Operations at the coal block acquired by Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLCL) at Malda panchayat in Jharsuguda district are facing a huge land hurdle. The company has initiated steps to acquire land for mining of coal. However, local people are opposing the plans of the company. They have demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation for an acre of land. With the project facing hurdle, the district administration tried to broker a truce between the company and those opposed to it by calling a meeting Monday at Malda. The meeting was presided over by district sub- collector Dayamay Padhi. Also present at the meeting were BDO Purnachandra Bhoi, tehsildar Basant Kumar Hati and Executive Director of NLCL Hemant Kumar and land acquisition officer P Mahesh.
A delegation of locals including sarpanch Rinki Singh attended the meeting. They were told that land is being acquired under Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957 and so they will have to cooperate with the company. However, the local delegation rejected the proposal and said that they will not allow operations to start unless their 18-point charter of demands is fulfilled. It should be stated here that most of the people in the said panchayat belong to scheduled tribes and Dalit communities. They said that coal mining will rob them of their age-old livelihood of farming forever. “All affected people should be given right amount of compensation, scope of employment, rehabilitation, free electricity and drinking water and Rs 1 crore per acre of land,” the delegation said.