SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Feb 3: The ministry of coal has directed to move 14,460 families living in the dangerous Jharia mines fire area to a safer place in the next 60 days.
Around 81 spots in the Jharia mines fire area out of the 595 have been identified as the most dangerous where 14,460 families are living.
The coal secretary Amrit Lal Meena, while holding a high-level meeting with the concerned agencies through Video Conferencing on Thursday, said that when quarters are already completed for fire-affected residents, why the families (land owner and encroacher) are not being shifted there?
Among 14,460, identified families living in spotted 81 most dangerous fire-affected areas, 1,860 families are land owner (Raiyat) residents while 12,600 families are encroachers living on the land of BCCL.
Earlier at the meeting on Thursday, the Coal India Limited (CIL) chairman Pramod Agrawal, Dhanbad deputy commissioner cum JRDA managing director Sandip Singh and BCCL chairman cum managing director Samiran Dutta put the detailed reports over steps being initiated for moving the families of the dangerous mines fire zone in safe quarters.
The coal secretary has directed Jharia Rehabilitation Development Authority (JRDA) and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) to settle 14,460 land title holders and encroachers’ families in the most dangerous zone at safe quarters.
A senior official of JRDA said that the coal secretary directed to shift of 14,460 families from identified most dangerous 81 fire areas in two months.
The official said a meeting of the Jharia Master Plan would be held on February 7 to decide the policy for shifting all 1.4 lakh families from the dangerous zone. At the high-level meeting, the cabinet secretary of the union government, coal secretary, chief secretary Jharkhand, CIL chairman, Dhanbad deputy commissioner and BCCL chairman cum managing director would attend.
