Dhanbad, July 25: Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, accompanied by Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman PM Prasad, began a two-day visit to Dhanbad to review development projects and assess the Jharia coalfield mines fire zone.
Minister Reddy, marking his first visit to Dhanbad, addressed the media at the Barbadda airstrip and expressed his intent to meet coal fire-affected residents and gather first-hand reports of their issues.
During his visit, the Minister will tour various coalfield fire zones and subsidence-prone areas of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and meet fire-affected individuals.
The itinerary includes a visit to the Sijua Area and Kusund fire zone, where the Minister will interact with residents impacted by the fires. He will also assess the facilities provided to displaced persons at Belagaria Township.
The Minister is expected to hold a high-level meeting to discuss the Jharia Master Plan, aimed at rehabilitating residents affected by the coalfield fires, and to explore ways to increase coal production at BCCL. BCCL CMD Samiran Dutta and senior officials had inspected the Sendra Bansjor fire-affected area in preparation for the visit.
This marks the second visit by a Union Coal Minister to the fire-affected Jharia coalfield within a year. The previous visit was conducted by then Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi in July of the previous year.
According to a survey, 1.4 lakh families reside in hazardous fire zones, with 72,882 being unauthorized residents and 32,046 holding legal land titles. The Jharia Master Plan, designed to rehabilitate these families, expired in August 2021.
A senior coal officer stated that the Minister will discuss the new rehabilitation project with CIL, BCCL, and the Dhanbad district administration following his visit to the affected areas.
