Jharkhand added another feather in its cap with the inauguration of Magadh open cast coal mine situated in Chatra. The mine claimed as Asia’s largest open cast mine started production after nearly one and a half decades of hiccups in the project because of resistance by common people, fear of Naxals and impediments in the form of forest clearance. The mine will be operated by CCl.
The project’s capacity is estimated to be around 70 million tonne (MT) and is touted to help Jharkhand in taking giant strides in the direction of meeting power requirement, addressing job concerns and provide impetus to the growth of the State. “We expect that inauguration of Magadh will not only increase coal production but will also lead to increase in employment in Jharkhand,” said Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
Das highlighted the pangs of displacement and called for a compassionate attitude towards people who lose their land and await the healing touch that is needed to compensate the loss. The CM in the same vein assured that land authentication will be done to help identification of beneficiaries and facilitate employment to the displaced people. “We are yet to get land maps from Bihar but I assure that in two-year we will authenticate lands and provide jobs to 17,000 displaced people,” added the CM.
Even as Das raised the point of displacement which is direct fallout of mining activities Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal sought to dispel the concerns of the CM and assured Chatra MP Sunil Singh that the government will honor its promises made. Earlier, the Chatra MP reminded the Union Minister about promises made while inaugurating Amrapali mines. “Whatever promises we had made will be fulfilled and no effort will be spared in the direction of ensuring that,” maintained Goyal.
As land is considered a biggest hurdle for a project the issue of land authentication was brought up by Chairman and Managing Director of CCl, Gopal Singh. The CCl CMD while expressing gratitude to the CM for facilitating authentication of 1006-acres of land clearance requested expediting authentication of nearly 34,000-acres of land for the coal company that is likely to provide employment to around 20,000 people affected in the land acquisition process.
The CCl CMD praised the people of the region for allowing the Magadh coal mines to function. Notably, the Mine faced numerous hurdles since land acquisition that was made 1995 and over the years Jharkhand’s Magadh received forest clearances in bits and pieces—12 MT in 2005 and 20 MT in 2008. “The same people who did not allow us to go there actually invited us to open the mine. They are worthy of praise. They have not been paid compensations, jobs yet they asked us to begin the work,” added Singh.
Meanwhile, the Union Minister announced that three ministries-- Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy—will construct 11460 toilets in schools in Jharkhand as part of the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. On the occasion Das also announced constructing 3.5-lakh toilets in as many homes in Jharkhand. The State government is also mulling a proposal to earmark 50-lakh from an MlA’s fund for the construction of toilets across Jharkhand. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Ranchi MP, Ram Tahal Chaudhary; Coal Secretary, Anil Swaroop; CIl Chairman, S Bhattacharya and other senior officials of CIl subsidiaries.