Tension broke out at the Open Cast-II coal mine extension project of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) in Ladnapur village of Ramagiri mandal in Peddapalli district in the wee hours of Friday when a group of aggrieved “land oustees” tried to barge into the OC-II mine in protest against a “demolition drive” by the authorities as part of the mine extension project in the village.
The pre-dawn operation by the authorities of the government-owned coal mining giant in the presence of Revenue and the police personnel triggered protests by a section of villagers, sources said.
The aggrieved “land oustees” alleged that they were deprived of the benefits of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) package despite sacrificing their lands for the coal mine extension project in Ladnapur of the SCCL’s Ramagundam III Area.
Some of them tried to force their way into the OC-II premises in an alleged bid to stall the demolition drive,
The police thwarted their attempt and shifted around 20 protesters to the Muttaram police station.
Following the incident, several aggrieved women squatted at the entrance of the OC-II demanding immediate release of those “detained” by the police and payment of compensation under the R&R package to all the aggrieved land oustees.
Expressing solidarity with the land oustees, Manthani MLA D Sridhar Babu took part in the protest at Ladnapur on Friday morning.
Official version
SCCL officials, however, maintained that the demolition drive was carried out to remove some “unauthorised” and “uninhabited” structures after obtaining permission from the Revenue authorities as part of the mine extension project.
As many as 721 Project Displaced Families (PDFs) were already extended the benefits under the R&R package and structure value awards were passed in respect of 283 families more than five years ago, said an official of the SCCL, who did not wish to be named, citing that the matter was sub-judice.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Mr. Sridhar Babu condemned the alleged demolition of “houses” of several land oustees by the SCCL authorities at Ladnapur village in Manthani Assembly constituency in the small hours of the day.
He demanded that the SCCL management provide R&R package to all the 283 land oustees of Ladnapur village immediately.
