Chanda admin stops WCL plan for road after evicting residents

Chandrapur: Within days after Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) Chandrapur area was asked to revoke all eviction notices served to over 2,000 families residing on its land, the district administration on Thursday ordered the public sector undertaking to stop construction of a road through densely-inhabited Lalpeth settlement in the city.
A team of officers led by tehsildar Nilesh Gaund carried out spot inspection of the area and issued the directives after interacting with the residents.
The WCL was bidding to evict thousands of families residing on its land for over 40 years and had issued notices to them with a warning of legal action. However, the bid was foiled by guardian minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who stood in support of people living on the WCL land for three generations.
The minister had slammed the WCL officials for the eviction drive taken up after over four decades. He had also directed the WCL to de-notify the land where unauthorised occupants have been living for decades.
Gaund along with local BJP leaders visited Lalpeth habitation, where eviction notices had been served, and interacted with the residents. The residents told the officials that WCL Hindustan Lalpeth sub-area has issued notices to vacate their houses and demolish it on their own on the pretext of building a road for transportation of coal from Lalpeth mine.
The residents opposed the move claiming that hundreds of houses would be destroyed for the road construction. Moreover, there will be a threat of accidents as heavy vehicles carrying coal and overburden would be passing through the densely-populated area, they said.
The residents also claimed their houses rattle each time blast is carried out in the nearby mine. Their houses tend to develop cracks due to the blasting, apart from stones and debris raining down on the settlements nearby.
The tehsildar noted all their woes and said the administration has prohibited the WCL from building road through the settlement till the matter is settled.
Gaund will now submit a detailed report to district collector, who will accordingly apprise the guardian minister.