Gram Sabha for Bijahan coal mine cancelled as villagers skip meeting

The Sundargarh administration's bid to take consent of locals for operation of Adani Group's Bijahan coal block in Hemgir block failed with the affected villagers refraining from participating in the Gram Sabha meeting on Wednesday.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Rourkela

Arrangements for the meeting were made with tent and chairs at Hathibandha ground of Junadihi. The block development officer (BDO) and tehsildar of Hemgir reached the venue on time but none of the villagers turned up. Instead, the affected villagers held a parallel meeting at a distance of around 1.5 km in Jamkani village in presence of Sundargarh MLA Jogesh Singh. Subsequently, the meeting was declared cancelled.

The Gram Sabha meeting was aimed at taking approval for acquisition of 250 acre of land in Bijahan village and 188.200 acre in Bhograkachhar for setting up Bijahan coal mining project of Mahanadi Mines and Minerals Pvt Ltd (MMMPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).