ROURKELA: Facing mounting pressure from the project-affected people over settlement of rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) claims, the Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) may not be able to start Siarmal coal mine in Hemgir block by the scheduled date of 2022. The upcoming Siarmal open cast project (SOCP), its largest, envisages maximum production capacity of 50 million tonne per annum (MTPA).
As per the current plan, it may start with two MTPA and by next eight to nine years, would reach the target of 50 MTPA. Currently, MCL produces around 13 and 16 MTPA from its Kulda and Garjanbahal mines respectively while Basundhara (West), which is nearing saturation, is producing about one MTPA. The MCL’s earlier target to produce 50-60 MTPA by 2024 from Sundargarh mines seems highly improbable. The Siarmal project is spread over Tumulia, Jhupurunga, Gopalpur and Siarmal villages. Only some families from Siarmal have been shifted. Sources said notification for land acquisition in 14 villages of Hemgir under Coal Bearing Act was issued in 1987.
Earlier, 10 villages were covered under the R&R policy and still, several claims for compensation and job of the affected people are pending. Of the remaining four villages, Tumulia has recently seen seven affected persons getting employments, but disbursement of compensation is yet to be started. Similarly in Jhupurunga village, compensation disbursement has started recently, while in Kiritsira and Ratansara, the process is yet to begin. President of Bisthapeeth Adhikar Suraksha Manch Rajendra Naik said they have been waiting for their legitimate rights for the last 34 years.
On Sunday, the outfit resolved to continue its legal fight and simultaneously resort to agitation for mines closure. “Till all R&R issues are settled, we would not allow expansion or opening of new mines of MCL. The MCL and the district administration have still not clarified where we would be rehabilitated. Several families continue to live dangerously near the operational Kulda mine in absence of rehabilitation,” he alleged.
A senior MCL officer admitted that opening Siarmal mine by next year looks difficult. Besides trying to sort out displacement issues amicably, the MCL is simultaneously moving to obtain clearances for environment, forest and government land which are lengthy and cumbersome affairs, he added. Public relation officer of MCL Binayak Jamwal sought time to comment on the issue.