People of 13 gram panchayats of the lakhanpur block under Jharsuguda district are up in the arms against the proposed 2,400 MW lara Super Thermal Power Plant in Chhattisgarh State, a unit of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
They are worried as the project is pursued without consideration of its environmental impact on the locality including the bordering areas of Odisha.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to lay the foundation stone of the power plant through video conferencing on September 19.
Preparation for it is also going on in full swing. But people in lakhanpur block are preparing to protest the foundation stone laying ceremony tooth and nail since no public hearing had been made in Odisha for establishing the power plant which is close to their village.
“This power plant will do nothing for Odisha people but damage their agricultural land, water bodies, environment and thereby the very livelihood of the people and the entire farming community,” said Chandra Sekhar Behera, the Sarapancha of the Pithinda panchayat. “A vast portion of the Odisha land in lakhanpur block comes under the affected area of the plant. This area will face the pollution hazards including all other industrial vulnerability,” Behera said.
“Chhattisgarh will get the benefit of the power plant, where as Odisha would suffer the ordeals and loss in all fronts. This is not a genuine decision either of the Chhattisgarh Government or that of the Indian Government,” alleged Dillip Sahu, Sarapanch of Kanaktura panchayat. “Hence, we demand cancellation of the project,” he said.
The Sarapanch Mahasangha of the district, the residents of the Uneish Mauza, and all the conscious people of the block have also expressed virulent resentment over the decision. The Sarapanch Mahasangha also has submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik through the District Collector of Jharsuguda to interfere in the matter and have discussion with his counterpart to stop the project for the greater interest of the farmers of State’s border.
The common people also blame it on the local leaders and the elected representatives who have been keeping silence on the matter till today. Keeping in view the resentment and protest of the people at Odisha border, the administration of Jharsuguda is also making all-out efforts to cool down the aggrieved people and convince them not to create any unpleasant situation during the inauguration programme in the neighbouring State. “We have appealed the people and their leaders not to create tension at the border,” said Jharsuguda ADM Bibhuti Bhusan Behera.