CMC bars WCL from removal of Lalpeth habitation

Chandrapur: The Chandrapur Municipal Corporation (CMC) has come to the rescue of citizens facing threat of eviction from their homes due to Lalpeth opencast mine extension project of the Western Coalfields Ltd.
The corporation on Tuesday passed a resolution barring the WCL from removal of the habitation from Lalpeth locality. Fierce discussions were held during the CMC’s general body meeting that was organised offline for the first time in last one-and-a-half year.
Corporator Shyam Kankam took up the issue of citizens being hassled by the WCL to vacate their homes in three habitations in Lalpeth as the Coal India Limited subsidiary plans to extend the opencast mine after removal of large overburden dumps.
Kankam argued that people are living near Lalpeth mine for over 70 years. Many have built pucca houses and settled here for three generations. However, the WCL has initiated the process of removal of the habitation to start a coal mine near Savarkar Hindi Primary School of the CMC, he said.
The corporator brought the anguish of the people facing eviction to the knowledge of the CMC House and demanded immediate intervention. After discussing the subtleties of the issue, the House passed a resolution barring WCL from removal of Lalpeth habitation.