By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR/ANGUL/TALCHER: The Odisha Government may likely start Socioeconomic Survey of Angul-Talcher Region soon in view of the 9 coal blocks put for auction, of which, 2 have been sold including Radhikapur (West- East) bagged by Vedanta and EMIL Mines and Mineral Resources Limited respectively, while 7 more to go for auction.
The 9 mines blocks including Chendipada I, Chendipada II, Machhakata, Mahanadi, Radhikapur (East), Radhikapur (West), Brahmanbil & Kardabahal, Kuraloi (A) North, and Phuljhari (East & West) were put for auction. The Naveen Patnaik led Government in Odisha, is expecting to get near about Rs 10,648 Crore from 9 Coal Blocks . Of the 9 blocks. fierce bidding for Odisha’s Chendipada (40 MTPA) and Macchakatta (30 MTPA) blocks is expected. Of the total 9, 8 were from Angul district. Close to 32,000 acres (130 square kilometres) of land including 1,384 acres of forest land in the nine coal blocks in Odisha have been chosen for allocation for commercial mining.
Sources in Angul District administration said, Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain, has already took up the issue and for the new coal block allocations not much work has started now but the socioeconomic survey of some of the areas would start soon.The officials claim that they are taking adequate steps to control pollution in the district especially in coal mining-affected areas. Collector Swain, sources said , has been working overtime and ensuring that all trucks plying on roads are covered on top, their wheels are washed during exist points and water is sprinkled in the mining-affected areas regularly. Sources said during the last meeting of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), Collector Swain has emphasised on how to reduce pollution in the area.“As locals may likely to oppose new coal mining , the district administration is reaching out to them,” sources said.
Talcher coalfield is known to be India’s largest repository of coal and often referred to as the ‘black diamond’ of Odisha. Talcher region is known in the country for hosting the largest deposits of power grade coal. According to Mahanadi Coalfield Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL), Talcher coalfield hosts the highest geological reserve of coal in India measuring upto 51.220 billion tonnes. The coal from Talcher is supplied to southern and western Indian states for power generation. The central government and the Odisha government are now working towards developing rail lines between Talcher with Paradip port in Odisha to boost its transportation to other states via sea-route.
All these coal blocks like Chendipada I, Chendipada II, West Radhikapur and others are almost adjacent to each other and pose the same threat to the rich biodiversity as well as to the farming land which may soon be destroyed. But the question is whether the transition will lead to any improvement in the lives of the local people.
Forest clearance related documents of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of an auctioned mined claimed that the region is home to plant species such as acacia, bahada, barabakulia, mahul, teak, neem, eucalyptus and 15 other species. The vegetation there is classified as tropical moist deciduous forest type. At present, there are 10 coal mining projects undergoing in Talcher.
