Tension prevailed when displaced people opposed the mining activity and clashed with police at Jamkhani open cast coal mines in Hemgir block of Sundargarh district on Saturday.
The district and police administrations had deployed 17 platoons of force as mining started at the Jamkhani mines. The clash erupted when two displaced women and some villagers breached the security and tried to go towards the mining area opposing it and demanding adequate compensation, proper rehabilitation and employment for family members aged above 18 years. Police tried to prevent them from halting the mining operations and lathi-charged them. Other local residents gathered and intensified the agitation by clashing with the police.
Villagers of Jamkhani, Giriseema, Jharpalam and Mendra have been demanding settlement as per provisions laid down by the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, but the district administration stated that this won’t be possible as the displaced people had already been compensated for their land after acquisition by the Bhusan Steel and Power Ltd (BSPL) in 2006. But the mining block got de-allocated following a Supreme Court order in 2014. Since the people displaced had been poorly compensated and their claims have been unresolved till now, resentment had been building up among them.
While the villagers continued their agitation, the administration was trying to hold discussions with them and pacify them with the assurance of getting their demands addressed. They reportedly were assured of Rs 6 lakh per acre and other rehabilitation measures.
Rajgangpur Congress MLA CS Raazen Ekka reached the spot and took stock of the situation by interacting with the protestors.