Bhubaneswar: An agitation by the displaced people of an opencast mining project of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in Sundargarh district of Odisha continued for the second day today.

A meeting between the agitators and authorities of MCL could not produce the desired results, sources said.

The displaced people of the project launched their agitation yesterday on allegations that the MCL authorities have failed to settle the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) claims as per the direction of the Supreme Court (SC).

The agitators further alleged that the MCL authorities have shown their reluctance to adhere to the existing rules and guidelines for settling the R&R claims. They have threatened to continue with their stir till the fulfillment of their demands, sources said.

According to the agitators, the Supreme Court, in its November 3, 2022 order, had directed the MCL authorities to settle the R&R claims of displaced people of 14 villages, including Tumulia and Jhupuranga, within nine months. However, the authorities concerned are yet to obey the SC order, they alleged.

The SC had directed the MCL authorities to provide 10 decimal homestead land and house to each of the displaced families of the mining project, claimed the agitators.

They further claimed that the MCL authorities had agreed to provide jobs to at least one person from each of the displaced families under the Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy -2006 and Odisha Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act-2013. However, the authorities of MCL are yet to provide jobs to the displaced people, they alleged.

“The MCL authorities and the district administration have assured us to settle the R&R claims during a tripartite meeting around eight months ago. But, they have failed to do so despite repeated pleas in this regard,” said an agitator.