A confrontation between Keonjhar Collector Ashish Thakre and NCST (National Commission for Sheduled Tribe) does not seem to die down.
A few days before, Collector Thakre was in the news after the NCST had issued a direction to State DGP Sunil Banshal to arrest Thakre and produce him before its New Delhi office on April 13 on the ground of being absconding despite repeated notice on the issue of non- payment of compensation and employment to one Darsingh Khuntia, a tribal resident of Lahanda village in Keonjhar for land acquisition by Tata Steel Long Product, formerly known Tata Sponge Iron Limited.
Later, Thakre was able to get a relief from summons as the Orissa High Court had stayed the operation of NCST order. Pinky Anand, renowned
Supreme Court advocate, was engaged by the Odisha Government to fight the case on its behalf.
However, Ravikanta, Odisha’s Resident Commissioner, New Delhi made the matter messy by forwarding the court order to the Chairman of the NCST on behalf of Thakre what the Commission took very seriously and asked him to clarify his stand by personal appearance before the panel on April 28.
Sources close to former MP and Member of NCST Ananta Naik revealed that Ravikanta had appeared and confessed the mistake of forwarding the High Court order on behalf of the State Government which is not a party in the dispute between Thakre and NCST in the High Court.
However, in a latest case, the NCST has issued summons to Thakre on
the matter of rehabilitation of some affected tribal people displaced
by the Kanpur Irrigation project. For last six months, the Commission
has been issuing notice after notice to the Keonjhar Collector to
reply on various issues but sources revealed that the latter has not
been responsive.