Chhattisgarh govt seeks report on UltraTech project oustees' plight

The huge money that the villagers received was diverted to the chit fund companies in the Raipur district, which have allegedly decamped

Chhattisgarh government had sought report from the local administration in connection with the villagers ousted by a limestone project investing huge money in the fraud chit fund companies in Raipur district.

The villagers had given away their land to a 1,700-acre mine located in Kharora block of Raipur district. The mine with production capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum had been allotted to UtraTech cement. The project is interlinked with company’s integrated cement plant located in the district.

The huge money that the villagers received was diverted to the chit fund companies that swung into action soon after the disbursement. In Murra village that houses a population of 3,000, over Rs 3 crore had been invested in the chit fund companies. Many people had invested over 75 per cent of the amount that they received against selling their land. For the last one year, there is no trace of the companies that collected money from the villagers. Most of the companies operated small offices in the block headquarters of Tilda some 20 km from the village.

Having lost money and land, the villagers are now left in lurch. They are not entitled to get employment in the project as UltraTech had not procured land directly or through the land acquisition route. This would deny the affected people the rights under the relief and rehabilitation (R&R) policy. The company had earlier not responded to the queries sent for its version on the issue.

“The state government would seek the detail report from the district administration,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said while talking to a section of senior journalists late Tuesday evening. The state government had taken a serious note on the issue and would take all necessary steps in the interest of the affected villagers, he added.