MCL asked to prepare rehabilitation master plan for each project

ANGUL: The Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) has asked the company to prepare a master plan for each project in Angul district to let people know resettlement, rehabilitation and employment generation aspects.

Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan informed the media about this decision after an RPDAC meeting here on Wednesday.

Pradhan said the meeting discussed 21 proposals raised by people’s representatives and state government officials. Special committees have been formed to look into the grievances of people losing their land to coal projects.

He said the meeting also discussed issues related to land acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement in Talcher and Angul. The establishment of resettlement colonies was also discussed.

Stating that the district administration acts as a bridge between locals and industries, the former Union minister said adequate attention must be paid to ensure justice for displaced people after they surrender their land for projects. He said Talcher produces more than 100 million tonnes of coal annually, while the country’s total coal production is around 1,000 million tonnes.

The MP said pollution remains a major problem in the district and needs to be addressed. He also stressed the need for skill development of the people in affected villages by upgrading central workshops and providing better training opportunities.

Northern RDC Sangram Keshari Mahapatra chaired the meeting. Dhenkanal MP Rudra Narayan Pany, MLAs Braja Kishore Pradhan and Agasti Behera besides MCL CMD Uday A Kaole and Angul collector Abdaal Akhtar attended the meeting.

PUJARI WANTS EXECUTION OF RPDAC DECISIONS

Sambalpur: A day after the Regional Project Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) meeting on the NLC Talabira-II and III coal mining project, former minister and BJD leader Rohit Pujari on Wednesday said it would remain a mere formality unless the decisions taken were implemented within a definite timeframe.

The RPDAC meeting was held in Sambalpur on Tuesday after a gap of nearly eight years, bringing long-pending issues surrounding the NLC-allocated and Adani Group-operated Talabira coal mines back into focus. Pujari demanded impartial inquiries into allegations of tree felling, coal burning and coal theft. He also criticised the BJP government and local BJP leaders over the delay in addressing the issues.