Durgapur | 25 February, 2016:

The Eastern Coalfields Limiited (ECL), a subsidiary of nationalised coal sector has given the go ahead for acquisition of 236 acres of land to help in the rehabilitation of subsidence-affected families.

Following a Supreme Court verdict, 1150 acres of bulk land was required for the purpose of rehabilitation of the villagers residing in subsidence prone areas. Of this, the ECL is supposed to give clearance for the use of 929 acres of its leasehold area for the purpose.

On Tuesday, a meeting between the district administration and the ECL officials was held in Asansol where the ECL’s consent for the acquisition of leasehold land was placed. The meeting was chaired by Mr Sumit Gupta, ADM, Asansol who also functions as the CEO, Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA). The ADDA, a statutory body, has incidentally been chosen as the monitoring and implementing authority of the entire rehabilitation process.

In all, 139 villages falling in unsafe and subsidence prone locations under the Raniganj Coalfields need to be shifted and 40,000-odd residents are to be rehabilitated as per the Master Plan prepared by the Coal Mines Planning and Design Institute,a Coal India organisation. The office of the district magistrate, Burdwan, on 25 June 2010, had issued a notification under Section 4 of the West Bengal Restriction on Construction in Unsafe Areas Act, 1979 restraining any further construction of structural expansion on the land of the affected subsidence-prone villages.

Mr Gupta said: “The process of rehabilitation has already begun and further pace of the work is being worked out.” The ECL officials hinted at giving clearance for another 76 acres for the purpose soon.

(Source: http://www.thestatesman.com/)