Irate villagers have closed three mines under Jagannath Area of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) at Talcher coalfields today, hampering production and supply of coal to the power plant.
MCL sources said residents of Ekdal village, forcibly stopped coal mining and dispatch operations at Jagannath OCP, Bhubaneswari OCP and Ananta OCP from 5 AM today demanding employment benefit beyond regulation.
Production and supply of more than 1.1 lakh tones of coal to the thermal power plants in a day is being affected due to the closure of mines. Ekdal village, along with nine other villages, was notified under CBA Act and the compensation was awarded on January 6, 2018.
Out of total awarded compensation of Rs 34 crore, Rs 27 crore have already been disbursed till now among the beneficiaries who have submitted their documents, MCL claimed.
While 268 eligible cases for employment are under process, rest 135 cases, which are coming under category IV & V of R&R Policy 2006 of the Government of Odisha, are not eligible for employment.
These people have resorted to illegal stoppage of mining operations.
Against the strike notice submitted by these 135 villagers, the Company had invited them for a meeting at Jagannath Area HQs but none turned up and resorted to stoppage of work causing an estimated loss of more than Rs 11 crore in a day
Besides prolonged monsoon, the sporadic strikes and bandhs in the mines across Talcher coalfields this year have deterred coal production and supply from MCL.
Talcher coalfields alone has registered a loss of 13 million tonne in coal production during the current financial year, with a negative growth of about 8 per cent as compared to same period previous fiscal year. (UNI)
