Jharkhand stops land acquisition for BCCL

Ranchi, March 23 (IANS) The Jharkhand government has stopped land acquisition for Coal India Ltd. (CIL) subsidiary Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) as it was not following the prescribed rehabilitation policy, the state assembly was informed Friday.

"The state government has stopped acquiring land for BCCL as the company is not accepting the rehabilitation policy of the state government formulated in 2008," Land and Revenue Minister Mathura Mahto informed the house.

Dhullu Mahto of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), and Leader of Opposition Rajendra Singh, of the Congress, also raised the issue of double standards adopted by the BCCL while giving compensation to displaced people. Several other legislators also supported them.

"CIL adopts double standard while giving compensation to displaced people. In Odisha, CIL gives jobs to those people whose one acre land has been acquired and in Jharkhand, BCCL gives jobs when two acres of land of a person is acquired," said Singh.

In his reply, the minister said BCCL has been asked to follow the state's relief and rehabilitation policy formulated in 2008. "When BCCL declined to follow, then we stopped acquiring land for it," he said.