ANALYSIS. Thanks to govt policy, CIL finds land too hot to handle in Odisha

Here’s what your family stands to gain if Odisha’s Mahanadi Coalfields Limited were to acquire a four-five decimal plot of your land in the State’s countryside: a permanent job with a minimum salary of ₹25,000 for all adults in the household, besides a 10-decimal residential plot and the money to build a house for each.

This has been the norm in the eastern State’s coalfields, courtesy a State policy. Coal India Ltd, which is MCL’s parent company, is now pushing the government for a change of rules.

Sources say the State-owned miner has made at least two representations to the Odisha government between January and May, requesting that the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RnR) Policy limit compensatory job offering to one member of the “original” project-affected family for acquisition of two acres and above.

CIL already offers a hefty price for land. It has provisions to offer land and money for rebuilding houses, too. It also offers cash or annuity payment as compensation for loss of livelihood.

But it is sick and tired of arm-twisting. Nearly 60 per cent of the 23,000 workers in miner’s Sambalpur-based subsidiary – Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) – were recruited against land acquisition.

The root of the problem lies in the angry protests against land acquisition that began in Kalinganagar, Odisha, in 2005 and put the entire country (except Tamil Nadu) on fire for at least next few years.

The protests made everyone aware of the need for fair compensation. CIL has always had a policy of providing one job for the acquisition of two acres of land. It amended the rules to make job offerings easier.

The Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013, increased the cost of acquisition. All coal-bearing States have introduced their own RnR policy to ensure social security and better life of the project affected.

But Odisha took it to an extreme. In 2006, the Naveen Patnaik government said all families affected by mining projects, irrespective of the quantum of land given up, “shall be eligible for employment”.

In a gazette notification in 2013, the State further explained that the major grandson, major unmarried daughter, major unmarried granddaughter and major unmarried sister (of the “original” project affected), be treated as ‘separate families’.

Private miners bypassed such rules; but CIL became easy prey. Land prices zoomed as everyone wanted to have a toe-hold in mining areas.

Ganesh Gochyat’s at Jarda in Talcher got five jobs and five plots of 10 decimal each in exchange of acquisition of merely four decimal land. The family of Vishnu Munda of Upda at Lakhanpur area in Jharsuguda received nine jobs and 12 plots, after the acquisition of a mere 9-decimal plot. The list is endless.

The policy definitely brought huge benefits to Odisha in terms of job creation when compared to other States.

In 2016-17, MCL acquired 1,611 hectares of land, took possession of merely 147 hectares and offered 536 permanent jobs. As per CIL estimates, each permanent job creates three indirect job opportunities, thereby taking the total job creation to 2,000.

In comparison, Singrauli-based Northern Coalfields acquired and possessed 9,800 hectares of land in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in FY17 but offered only 48 permanent jobs.

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