Environmental activist and lok Shakti Abhiyan president Prafulla Samantara and villagers of Chendipada area on Tuesday protested public hearing for Mahaguj Colliery at Chendipada of Angul district which would be held on September 4.
Samantara in a letter to Secretary of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change stated that holding of public hearing for Machakuta coal mines at Chendipada is illegal as the Supreme Court has already passed an order to cancel all coal blocks allotted to different companies without auction between 1993 and 2010.
The activist requested the Member-Secretary to direct the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to stop the hearing as the villagers have been protesting it. Due to the mining, more than 20,000 farmers would lose around 7,000 acres of agriculture land, he added.Samantara also submitted a memorandum to Member-Secretary of the OSPCB to stop public hearing keeping in view the Supreme Court’s judgment and public protest.
Meanwhile, villagers of Machhakuta in Chendipada area urged the Angul Collector to cancel the public hearing in view of the SC judgment.