Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) may have to close down mining operations at the Jagannath area in Angul district of Odisha by November following protests by villagers.

At least 122 people in the Hensmul village in the area have refused to vacate, despite resettlement offers from the company.

“Even if villagers do not disturb our operations, but continue to occupy their dwellings, the company would have no other option but close down the operations in the Jagannath area by October or November,” MCL, a subsidiary of Coal India, said in a release.

Closure of mining operations at Jagannath Area, which has a production target of about 40 million tonnes for 2014-15, would mean snapping off fuel supplies to the power plants in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It will also hinder operations of the Bhubaneswari and Ananta open cast projects in Odisha.

Agitation Odisha rolled out a resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) policy in 2012. MCL claimed that they had provided resettlement based on the policy.

Quarters were given to 79 of the 122 villagers, and, the rest were assured of interim arrangements. However, the villagers refused to hand over their possessions.

They demand to be reinstated in company’s job and relocation to a particular site, which is a coal-bearing area in the middle of three main mining projects of the company – Bhubaneswari, Lingraj and Ananta.

“The company is firm on its stand that it would immediately reinstate terminated workers provided they hand over vacant possession of land and clear the place,” MCL said.

The services of these workers were terminated on May 6.

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