This story is from April 20, 2016

Surjagarh public hearing put off after protests by citizens

Hastily Arranged Hearing, Absence Of Officials Irks People
Surjagarh public hearing put off after protests by citizens
Chandrapur: A public hearing over the iron ore project at Surjagarh hillocks in Gadchiroli’sEtapallitehsil held on Tuesday was postponed following stiff protests from the local leaders and citizens. Villagers raised strong slogans against the administration and Lloyds Metals and Engineers, the company carrying out the excavation, prompting MP AshokNete calling off the hearing.

The excavation underway at Surjagarh has been facing stiff opposition from locals and opposition leaders since two months. Locals say that the locals are not getting any benefit of the mining as the ore is transported to Bhandara, where a steel plant is located. They are demanding that a sponge iron project be set up in Gadchiroli district itself, so that locals get employment.
In fact, former MP Marotrao Kowase and former MLAs Deepak Atram, Namdeo Usendi and Anandrao Gedam had met the district collector on Monday on the issue. They urged the collector to immediately stop what they called illegal transportation of iron ore from the project site and ensure that Lloyd’s builds its plant in the district. “While the plant is set up, the administration should start related courses in the local industrial training institutes to raise the necessary workforce here,” they demanded.
Following the strong demand of hearing to discuss the demands and woes of people related to the project, member of parliament Ashok Nete had convened the public hearing on Tuesday. However, the haste with which it had been organized came under fire. The absence of senior administrative officers and failure of administration to inform people about the hearing rankled the locals.
The hearing, scheduled at the tehsil office, began three hours late at 2pm. Nete chaired the programme, while MLA Devrao Holi, former ZP president Ravindra Olalwar, deputy collector Mahesh Ovhal, district mining officer Onkarsingh Bhond, SDPO Nitin Jadhav, Naib tehsildar RB Meshram were present on the occasion.
The hearing started with officials summoning the people to narrate their woes and make suggestions about the project. However, former MLA Deepak Atram objected to the process. “What’s the point in holding the hearing of just about 1,500 people, while over 1 lakh people in the tehsil are unaware of what is going on here,” he asked. Former minister Dharmarao Baba Atram also supported Deepak.
The already irked people started raising slogans against Lloyds Metals and Engineers and the administration. The uproar continued for over an hour and amid the mayhem, MP Nete called off the hearing. He announced that the next hearing would be scheduled after consultation with all parties and organizations in the district.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA