A high-level meeting took place at Asansol for rehabilitation and resettlement for the people affected due to subsidence and underground fire in Raniganj Coalfields area.

Rajesh Kumar Sinha, principal secretary of housing department, district magistrate of West Burdwan, S Ponnambalam , chairman of Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA), Tapas Banerjee, chief executive officer (CEO) of ADDA, Akhanshya Bhashkar etc were present. In the meeting its was discussed at length about the availability of land for setting up houses for rehabilitation and resettlement scheme of Raniganj coalfield area and further funds requirements etc.

The ADDA is the nodal agency for execution of the project and the houses are developed by the state housing department. Already 480 such houses near the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal have been completed and it has been decided that the keys will be handed over to the affected families during the next administrative meeting of chief minister Mamata Banerjee in West Burdwan district.

“The infrastructure of 480 houses, including water, electricity, sewerage are completed and will be handed over soon,” said Tapas Banerjee. The funds have been provided by the Union coal ministry for the biggest ever rehabilitation and resettlement projects in independent India in Jharia and Raniganj coalfields area on the directives of the Supreme Court. Due to fund constraints and unavailability of required amount of land the R&R Scheme in Raniganj coalfields area is going on at a slow pace and has been delayed.

According to ADDA, for land acquisition the development agency requires no objections from the Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), which is the official owner of the leasehold coal bearing area in Raniganj Coalfields area. On the instructions of the chief minister, chief secretary Hari Krishna Dwiwedi has also written several letters to the Union coal secretary earlier for release of funds and availability of land. In March, the state had sought Rs 615 crore for rehabilitation and resettlement of about 10,000 subsidenceaffected families from the Union coal ministry.

The state had received an amount of Rs 581 crore so far. The total sanctioned amount for R&R package for Raniganj Coalfields area was Rs 2,600 crore. This was the biggest ever rehabilitation and resettlement project of independent India. As per the plan, Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority needs to resettle about 55,000 families from 595 sites and Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA), the nodal agency for the construction of houses under Raniganj Rehabilitation and Resettlement Plan needs to develop 43,000 houses.

Due to unscientific coal mining since several centuries the underground has remained void and unused coal seams catching fires and incidents of subsidence are on the rise at both Jharia and Raniganj coalfield area