Annoyed with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) move to lodge a case against him, former CM and JVM supremo Babulal Marandi on Saturday decided to court arrest along with some other Opposition leaders in Barkagaon of Hazaribagh on August 4.
Besides Marandi, NTPC had named Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay, State president of RJD Gautam Sagar Rana, local MlA Nirmala Devi and some unidentified 400-500 people also in the FIR on July 24, saying that their move to organise a public meeting at restricted site of Chirubarwadih mining area was illegal.
Marandi said during a press conference alongwith Sahay, Rana, Alam, CPI State Secretary KD Singh and JD-U leader Pawan Pandey among others that they have decided to go to Barkagaon on August 4 and to offer arrest. These leaders have been agitating against a number of issues related to land acquisition in Barkagaon by NTPC, demanding compensation based on land Acquisition Resettlement Act, 2013.
Marandi said, “Under the act, consent of at least 70 per cent people was required in case land is acquired by the government, which extends to 80 per cent in case it is acquired by a private company. It also ensures compensation four times of the cost of the land in villages and two times in the cities.” He said his agitation will continue till land owners get justice.
