Jharsuguda: Residents of several villages in Lakhanpur block of Jharsuguda district have resolved not to part with their land for Vedanta’s Kudaloi (A) North coal mining project, alleging that their concerns over displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement have not been adequately addressed.
A general meeting convened by the Banjari Panchayat Action Committee was held at the Shri Shri Jangha Badadeo Mahaprabhu temple premises at Jaybudia village on Saturday. Chaired by Gopinath Majhi, the meeting was attended by residents of Jaybudia, Pardhiapada and Kudaloi villages.
The villagers discussed activities related to Vedanta and Narayani and alleged that work was being undertaken without adequately addressing provisions concerning displacement, resettlement and rehabilitation. The allegations could not be independently verified.
The protest is linked to Vedanta’s Kuraloi (A) North coal block in the IB Valley coalfield. The block, allocated to Vedanta following a commercial coal auction, has a proposed peak production capacity of 8 million tonnes per annum and covers areas including Banjari and Kuraloi.
Villagers claimed that Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari had recently visited Banjari and interacted with residents. According to them, the minister had asked officials that work should not proceed until issues raised by the affected people were addressed.
They further alleged that company personnel arrived in the Kudaloi and Banjari forest areas on August 10 for tree-related work, triggering apprehension among local residents.
At the meeting, the villagers unanimously resolved that they would not hand over their land to Vedanta under any circumstances.
“We may die, but we will not be afraid. We will not leave our ancestral land,” the villagers said while reiterating their opposition.
The Kuraloi (A) North project has previously witnessed concerns from local communities over land, rehabilitation, employment and environmental issues. A public hearing for the project was held in 2023, where villagers had raised demands including proper compensation, employment and rehabilitation measures.
Earlier this year, the district-level Forest Rights Committee approved a proposal concerning the use of forest land for the Kuraloi (A) North project as part of the statutory process under the Forest Rights Act.
Among those present at Saturday’s meeting were Gopinath Majhi, Dhaneswar Majhi, Biranchi Sahu, Binod Majhi, Murali Majhi, Ashok Majhi, Sayuki Pradhan, Chandra Pradhan, Linga Pradhan, Mukteswar Badei, Nath Kisan, Bhim Kisan, Karuna Pradhan and Kamal Ping, besides other villagers.
