NTPC PROJECTS AWAIT ‘ACHHEY DIN’ IN JHARKHAND

NTPC PROJECTS AWAIT ‘ACHHEY DIN’ IN JHARKHAND

More than 16 years ago when the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had laid the foundation stone of NTPC Power in Tandwa in 1998 people of the region had not imagined such gloomy days for them ahead. Blame it on unhealthy politics or the inefficient governance in Jharkhand but the plants are yet to take shape and begin production, let alone the inconvenience and burgeoning cost being borne by the public sector unit.

Adding more to the misery the not a single ounce of coal has been extracted from the coal mines near Badkagaon in Hazaribagh till now and efforts are still on to bring the things on track. Local residents say that since the name of former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha was attached with the projects so the UPA Government not only neglected it but tried to close the NTPC projects in Jharkhand.

Further, according to locals, mining work has not yet started in the coal blocks allotted to NTPC at Barkagaon and Keredari Blocks due to consistent disturbance by local MLA of the constituency. The newly elected MLA of Barkagaon is Nirmala Devi of Congress, whose husband Yogendra Sao a former Minister is languishing in jail for his alleged links with extremists.

Sao is said to be the main figures who had disturbed and delayed this much needed developmental project and even now he is indirectly putting hindrance in the works of NTPC. MLA Nirmala Devi and her supporters have stopped the works of coal project for over 20 days. They have also stopped the construction work of quarters for the displaced seeking unreasonably high compensation from the public sector unit, said locals.

NTPC officials at the Badkagaon site revealed on the condition of anonymity that the Hazaribagh district administration was also very unsupportive and the officials, in spite of making an arrest of the MLA and her supporters for putting obstacles in the works of the Government of India owned enterprise, have permitted her to hold protest near the construction site of the quarters for the displaced. 

Meanwhile, a high level meeting of district officials of Hazaribagh and Chatra districts and officers of NTPC was called by Divisional Commissioner Surendra Singh Meena on Wednesday. In the meeting Meena directed the officials to increase the pace of land acquisition for NTPC. After going through the rehabilitation package and other facilities announced by NTPC Meena concluded that some people were misleading the land owners so it was necessary that a joint team of NTPC and administration should meet with the land owners individually to get them acquainted with the actual rehabilitation package they will get.

Surprisingly, in this meeting no one raised a question that how the agitation is going on at the sites of NTPC without local administration permission and if permission has been given to the agitators to sit on others land then why not it should be withdrawn.

(THE PIONEER)