Ranchi: Representatives of various organizations working for the rights of people affected by displacement across Jharkhand participated in a state-level meeting held at Safdar Hashmi Hall on Main Road in Ranchi. The meeting brought together organizations representing displaced families from Railway projects, Bokaro Steel Plant, Tenughat-Lalpania, Chandil Dam, IEL, Ranchi Airport, HEC, DVC, CCL, BCCL, ECL, Central University (Kanke), and the Pachuwara and Telgharia areas of Santhal Pargana.
Addressing the gathering, CPI(M) Jharkhand State Secretary Prakash Viplav said displacement has remained a major challenge for Jharkhand since the British colonial period. He alleged that private companies, under British patronage, acquired land for coal mining in the 1920s and exploited mineral resources without benefiting local communities.
He said that after Independence, large-scale land acquisition for public sector undertakings, mining projects, dams and industries displaced nearly 1.5 million families in the region before the formation of Jharkhand, with tribal communities being the worst affected. According to him, the colonial Land Acquisition Act of 1894 provided inadequate compensation and failed to guarantee proper rehabilitation or employment for those who lost their land.
Prakash Viplav further claimed that Jharkhand is now witnessing a "third phase" of displacement following the allocation of several coal blocks by the Central Government. He alleged that while the issues of compensation, rehabilitation and employment for people displaced by earlier projects—including Bokaro Steel Plant, HEC, Hindalco, Electrosteel, Ranchi Airport, irrigation projects and defence establishments—remain unresolved, fresh land acquisition under the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) model has intensified conflicts between companies and landowners.
He also expressed concern over land acquisition in the Fifth Schedule areas of the Constitution, stating that despite the existence of the Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana tenancy laws and the provisions of the PESA Act, land is allegedly being acquired through "fake Gram Sabha resolutions" in certain places.
The meeting was chaired by Raj Kumar Gorai. Among those who addressed the gathering were Md. Ishtiyaq Ansari, Manowar Hussain Ansari, Ramlal Madaiya, Rupalal Mahto, Kanchan Mahto, Ratanlal Mahto, Prakash Toppo, Vinay Mahto, Prateek Mishra, Rakesh Kumar, Praful Linda and Beena Linda.
The participants resolved to strengthen coordination among organizations working on displacement issues and prepare a common state-level charter of demands. The charter will be discussed at a larger convention, following which a phased statewide movement will be launched.
A coordination committee comprising representatives of various displaced groups was also constituted, with Sukhnath Lohra appointed as Convenor and Rakesh Kumar as Co-Convenor.
The meeting also adopted a resolution urging Chief Minister Hemant Soren to fulfil his earlier announcement by constituting the Jharkhand Displacement Commission at the earliest.
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