Indian PM Modi rushes in land grab

World Bulletin / News Desk

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to move more than 100,000 people living near coalfields in eastern India to new homes, making it easier to douse underground fires that have burned for a century and mine huge reserves of premium coal.

Reviving output from India‘s nationalised coal sector has been one of Modi’s most tangible achievements during his first year in office, one that he hopes will secure continuous power to all and eat into an annual coal import bill of $15 billion.

The burning deposits of Jharia, in Jharkhand state, are particularly prized because they are the only source of top quality steelmaking coal in the country. India spends $4 billion a year on importing that grade alone.

Modi travelled to Jharkhand in February and urged the chief minister to speed up work on putting out the fires and shifting the people living there.

“The fact that the prime minister is directly involved shows that the government is very serious about it,” Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said in New Delhi. “It’s a huge task but the good news is that we have started moving in the right direction.”

For some of the thousands living in run-down settlements around the coal deposits, the urgency is clear.

Shakili Devi, 60, has lost count of the number of huts she inhabited over the years that caved in because of intense heat and shifting ground around her.

“We’re scared, but what can we do?,” she asked, her shack standing next to a crack in the ground leaking hot gas. “We can only wait for the government to find us a new home.”

Until then, Devi and others like her are stuck. Many families are squatters who rely on casual work from contractors working the mines and on free water pumped to the settlements.

AMAZING HURRY IN LAND GRAB 

According to All India news, Vice President of Congress Rahul Gandhi today however blasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of being in an “amazing hurry” to “grab” land from the poor farmers by deciding to repromulgate the land ordinance for the third time.

“Modi ji in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost. A 3rd attempt at pushing the anti farmer Land Ordinance! … Congress Party will continue to fight for the rights of the kisan and mazdoor against this #suitbootkisarkar” (sic), Mr Gandhi said in tweets.

The reaction of Mr Gandhi, who has led the Congress campaign against the Land bill, comes just hours after the Union Cabinet at a meeting decided to recommend repromulgation of the controversial ordinance for the third time. The 2013 Land bill passed during the UPA regime was the brainchild of Mr Gandhi.

 

Source Article from http://www.worldbulletin.net/haberler/159976/indian-pm-modi-rushes-in-land-grab

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes