Decades after land acquired by NTPC, villagers continue protest, claim promises broken

Among them was Roopwati Devi (70), a resident of Rasulpur village, who has been a regular at the protest. Her father-in-law’s land was acquired by the NTPC. She said: “They took my land in the name of development and showed us big dreams, but it has been 30 years and I still have to suffer daily for my rightful compensation. No one cares to rectify this. I have to come here, I have no option.”

Farmer leader Sukhbir Khalifa (Pehelwan) from Bhartiya Kisan Parishad, an organisation heading the protest, said: “We are not asking for extra money, all we want is compensation for all at an equal rate. The company gave compensation to different farmers at different rates, this is not fair. While acquiring our land, they had entered into an agreement that the affected family would be given a job. But they have given jobs to only 181 out of 2,200 families till date.”

He said villagers also want a hospital, a college and playgrounds in every village.

Khalifa said talks have been going on with the company, but a solution is yet to be found. “The protest has been going for years and will continue, we are not going to back down. A committee was formed, comprising an NTPC official, an additional DCP and an ADM, to resolve issues regarding compensation and jobs. Meetings were to be held twice a week between farmers and NTPC officials, but it happened once a month; now this committee is defunct. NTPC’s representative has said their CMD will talk to the farmers, we will wait and watch.”

Pawan Kumar (30) from Uncha Gaon, who participated in the protest, claimed he complained about the situation on the PMO grievance portal, but to no avail. “The company acquired 18 bighas of land from my grandparents’ family, but no one has got a job yet. We received compensation of just around Rs 17,000.”

When contacted, NTPC Dadri said the issues of regular employment and equal land compensation have been examined at all levels within the company and the district administration. “NTPC Dadri has held several meetings with agitating farmers in the presence of the district administration and it has been clarified that both issues cannot be reopened. At the time of project construction, regular employment was given to 182 persons based on their eligibility and suitability; it is not possible to further enhance regular employment. With regard to the demand for equal land compensation, the matter was settled long ago – rates were fixed in consultation with the district administration and compensation was disbursed through revenue authorities…,” it said in a statement.

NTPC Dadri also said that as far as employment is concerned, the company is conducting skill development programmes where 50 persons are undergoing training at the Construction Industry Development Council.

“The demands by farmers for a 200-bed hospital and construction of colleges has been taken up with the chief development officer and the matter has been referred to the health and education departments to examine the feasibility. Playgrounds are also under construction in Siddhipur and Khangoda villages; two have already been constructed,” said NTPC.

It said NTPC Dadri has been organising medical camps through its CSR initiative with the aim of providing medical facilities to the villages.