Assembly panel raps Jajpur firms for rehab lapses

A six- member House Committee on rehabilitation visited the steel hub at Kalinganagar  and its nearby areas of Jajpur district.

Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the committee Sananda Marandi criticised the officials of steel companies for not providing proper houses and other facilities to the displaced persons.

Sukinda MLA Pritiranjan Ghadai stated, "Many steel companies, including TATA, acquired land in Sukinda areas with conditions to provide jobs to the locals. But now many companies are not considering providing jobs to the displaced locals. Many land losers have also yet to receive compensation amount.”  He  demanded priority to the locals in employment and reservation of various technical posts in all the 12 steel plants and houses to them. Ghadei also accused the steel plant authorities of adopting anti-local policies in all the appointments in their project in violation of the decisions of the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee.

He also alleged that the companies at Kalinganagar are giving priority to outsiders and non-Odias in matter of jobs, depriving the local youths who have the requisite degrees and diplomas in different streams. Many contact labourers, who are engaged in the construction works of the companies havebeen neglected by the companies, he said. "Rampant industrialisation and the unregulated use of water by the industries are the main reason behind the river pollution and water shortages in the many villages and towns near the river Brahmani and Kharasrotra in the district of Jajpur," he stated.

Chromites mine workers of Sukinda and its nearby areas are constantly exposed to contaminated dust and water. Gastrointestinal bleeding, tuberculosis and asthma are common ailments. Infertility, birth defects, and stillbirths have also resulted, added Ghadei.

Though Sukinda has 15 crore metric tonnes of chrome ore, constituting 98 per cent of the total chrome deposits in the country, 40 lakh metric tonnes of chromite have been fully explored till date and within 15 years all the chromite will be explored, added Ghadai.  Blacksmith Institute, an American based organisation, five years back included the Sukinda Valley as the worst polluted places among the ten places in the globe. The valley contains 97 per cent of India's chromites ore deposits and one of the largest open cast chromites ore mines in the world. Many mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans and over 30 million tons of waste rocks are spread over the surrounding areas and the Brahmani riverbanks.

Untreated water is discharged by the mines into the river, alleged Ashiwni Dhal before the committee members.

MLAs Ayub Khan, Ramesh Patua , Amar Prasad Satpathy and Prasant Jagadev are the other members of the committee.