Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered that a house belonging to the family of former Barkagaon MLA Amba Prasad is being constructed on land acquired by NTPC under the Coal Bearing Act. This land, registered in the name of former MLA Nirmala Devi, was acquired for NTPC, and compensation of ₹21.60 lakh was deposited in a tribunal in November 2017 after she refused to accept the amount.
Land Acquisition and Transactions
Nirmala Devi purchased the land in May 2015 from Ratan Lal Khandelwal and Shakuntala Devi. The plot (Khata No. 220, Plot Nos. 349 & 358, spanning 1.08 acres) was officially valued at ₹23 lakh, but it was bought for ₹14.67 lakh.
In 2007, Nirmala Devi had entered into an agreement with Ratan Lal Khandelwal while the land acquisition process under the Coal Bearing Act was still underway. To complete the registration, she sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from NTPC, which was granted, leading to the land’s registry.
The acquisition process for NTPC was finalized in 2009. Later, in 2014, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) invited applications to open a petrol pump in Barkagaon.
Attempt to Open a Petrol Pump
Ankit Raj applied to lease land for the petrol pump, and IOC approved his application. In February 2015, Ankit submitted a layout plan and sought an NOC from the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
However, due to delays in processing, Ankit Raj filed a petition (5422/2017) in the High Court, which directed him to approach the Deputy Commissioner. Upon submitting his request, then Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner Ravi Shankar Shukla rejected the application in October 2017, stating that the land belonged to NTPC.
Ankit Raj later filed another High Court petition (7742/2017), naming the state government, Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner, and NTPC as respondents. In January 2024, the court heard the petition and granted him additional time to present his case.
NTPC’s Rejection of NOC for Commercial Use
In September 2021, Nirmala Devi formally requested NTPC to grant an NOC for setting up an office and petrol pump on the land. However, NTPC refused, citing that the land was already acquired under the Coal Bearing Act, and an official notification for acquisition was issued in 2009.
Since Nirmala Devi did not accept the compensation, the amount was deposited in the tribunal in 2017. The ED’s investigation has now brought the issue to light, raising questions about the legality of the construction on acquired government land.
