NTPC MDO BGR Infra & Mining Accused Of Bulldozing House In Jharkhand Without Giving Compensation To Family
NTPC's AGM Subhash Prasad Gupta terms victim family as "extortionists" as NTPC, BGR Infra and local administration maintain deafening silence
NTPC Limited is in news again, though not for good reasons this time too. NTPC Limited and its MDO – BGR Infra and Mining Private Limited, is excavating coal from Keredari Village in Hazaribagh District of Jharkhand. One Meena Devi, wife of Amresh Prajapati, resident of Keredari Village, has alleged that officials of BGR Infra and Mining Limited, on May 15, last, came to her house, assaulted her and razed her house to the ground. She further says that they were neither earlier informed of this action, not were paid any compensation by the MDO or NTPC Limited. And since then, her family is staying in a tent nearby.
She has further alleged that a week later, on May, 22, 2024, NTPC’s AGM Subhash Prasad Gupta came there with his colleagues, Mukesh Kumar Sahu and Rohit Pal. They were accompanied by employees of BGR Infra and Mining Limited namely Neeraj Singh, Subodh Prajapati, Ravi Rana and others. She has alleged that she was beaten to the extent that she fainted.
Residents of the village sat on a dharna to protest against the actions of NTPC Limited and its MDO – BGR Infra and Mining Private Limited. The protest was huge and mining activity was stopped in the vicinity for some days.
Some months back, this project was started with much fanfare and was welcomed by local residents too. Deputy Collector of Hazaribagh, Ms. Nancy Sahay was the chief guest on the occasion but probably unkept promises and high-handed attitude of NTPC officials along with the management of BGR Infra and Mining Private Limited, has brought the situation to this level. Though excavation work has started again, an uneasy calm prevails.
SEE VIDEO –
The aggrieved woman has filed a police complaint against NTPC Limited. A copy of the complaint is given below for the benefit of the viewers of www.indianpsu.com –
Meanwhile, officials of NTPC Limited have also filed a cross complaint against 17 persons including the Meena Devi and her husband, Amresh Prajapati.
Officials of NTPC Limited are seen openly siding with their MDO and calling the locals extortionists. In the video below, AGM of NTPC, Subhash Prasad Gupta, is seen making such allegations. But what is more intriguing is that NTPC Limited has finds no mention of “extortion” against the locals in its F.I.R. filed some hours after their official levelled such accusations !
SEE VIDEO –
Here, It is noteworthy to mention that NTPC Limited on 1st February, 2023, awarding the single highest awarded value contract of Rs. 20,400 Crore (approx.) for Kerendari Coal Block on BGR Mining & Infra. Limited, Hyderabad, for production of 139.74 Million Tonnes of Coal in a period of 25 years.
ww.indianpsu.com called Deputy Collector Hazaribagh Ms. Nancy Sahay to ask her whether the family whose house was bulldozed, had got any compensation for displacement, but the call went unanswered. WhatsApp messages and email sent to her on May 24, 2024, also did not elicit any response whatsoever. Same was the fate of the email sent to the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand. Two more reminder emails met the same fate.
www.indianpsu.com also sent three emails to CMD of NTPC, Corporate Communications Head of NTPC and to officials of M/s BGR Infra and Mining Private Limited, asking the same question, to get their versions, but we received no answers.
Serious questions are being raised on the Hazaribagh district administration and Jharkhand state government as to how did they allow NTPC Limited and its MDOs to start mining of coal without fulfilling the pre-conditions of rehabilitation-displacement and acquisition along with environmental and forest clearance? NTPC Limited and its MDOs start excavation of coal arbitrarily. Another vivid example of such neglect is NTPC’s Pakri Barwadih Project where the the ‘Most Critically Endangered’ ethnic group among the eight ‘primitive tribes’ of Jharkhand, Birhors, who constitute only about 0.01 percent of the total tribal population of India, live. In the recent past, two Birhor tribals have died unnatural deaths but blasts and mining continues unabated. The basic question here is whether the Maharatna PSUs and their partner private companies should meet the conditions and then start mining or should the rules and conditions are meant to be followed after starting mining? Coal is indeed important for power generation and other activity but is it more important than human life and dignity ? And are India and Bharat two different entities ???
