Central team meets displaced residents of Rourkela Steel Plant

Sundergarh: A four-member team of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) including Chairman Anusuya Ori met the displaced families of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) residing in Hatidharsa village in Sundergarh district and discussed various problems faced by them in the village.

As many as 31 families who had lost their land for the infrastructural development of RSP are residing in Hatidharsa, some 70 kilometres away from Rourkela.

The team members met the tribal families of Hatidharsa who briefed them on the unavailability of basic amenities including proper road, electricity, drinking water facilities, education and health services in the village. People also informed that patients are often carried on cots and slings to the hospital in the absence of a motorable road to the village.

The Commission assured the tribal families to draw the attention to the local administration and State Government towards their issues.

President of RSP Displaced Union, Lacchu Oram said, “The government had released land in Hatidharsa for reclamation. We have discussed with the officials on how far the process of reclamation of lands have been taken up by the concerned authorities. The people are deprived of basic amenities and one has to walk for 35 kilometres to go to the nearest market.”

“If the local administration has allotted lands to the tribals in Hatidharsa, they should demarcate it. It’s been 65 years now but land demarcation has not been done yet,” alleged Lacchu.

“People told us that their lands have not been identified. Some said that they have not been given the pattas and the identification of agricultural lands is also yet to be conducted. We heard the grievances of the people and will try to draw the attention of the administration in order to ensure basic facilities to them,” said Chairman of NCST Anasuya Orki.

On the other hand, Sundergarh Collector Rashmita Panda who also visited Hatidharsa with the central team assured all sort of help from the local administration.

“24 out of 31 families have been given the land pattas. The left out families will be soon identified and granted the pattas. We will help the eligible families by granting them various facilities after covering them in different plans of the government,” said Panda.

Those who have not been given any land till date will be identified soon. We will soon complete demarcation of land and if required will take the help of GPS survey, added Panda.