Uncertainty looms large over the 1980 MW coal-based power plant proposed by J R Powergen, the company promoted by Hyderabad-based KSK Group, in the wake of unabated opposition from locals who fear large scale displacement and environment degradation from the implementation of the project.
Owing to stiff protests from the agitating locals, no company official has dared to enter the project site lately and on occasions when project officials have forayed into the site, they have met protests of irate locals who have even held them hostage. The people of 23 affected villages are united under the banner of Jiban Jibika Surakhaya Samiti and have demanded scraping of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the state government for the project in 2009. The agitators have threatened to intensify their stir against the project if the project is not scrapped. The power plant was to come up at Kishorenagar in Angul district.
The plant needs about 2,000 acres of land. Last year, notification under Section 4 (1) was issued for acquisition of 726 acres of land belonging to Dhaurapalli, Jairat, Karmukata, Baiza and Burudamulia villages in Kishorenagar block . In fact the samiti was in favour of implementation of the Sureswari irrigation project to promote agriculture in the fertile area where paddy and other crops were raised. They were piqued when they learnt that a coal-fired power plant was coming up on that location. According to samiti president Dinanbandhu Pradhan, the power project will degrade their environment besides causing large scale displacement. They have objected to take over of agricultural land for the sake of putting up the power plant. For last two years, the locals have not only staged various agitations in Kishorenagar area but also gheraoed the district collectorate.
