CCL Bulldozes Farmers' Homes in Illegal Action

CPIML has strongly condemned the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) for illegally demolishing farmers' homes in Sevai village under the Rajrappa Project area. The party has demanded full compensation for the affected families and strict action against the CCL security personnel and police involved in the incident.

A three-member fact-finding team, comprising CPIML district committee members Bigendra Thakur, Dhruv Tiwari, and Visheshwar Mahto, visited Sevai village today to meet the victims, including Parmeshwar Mahto and his family. The investigation revealed shocking details of the event, which took place on 28th December 2024.

According to the findings, CCL has not acquired approximately 2 acres of land within Khata numbers 46 and 50, a part of a 15-acre plot belonging to the descendants of the original landholder. No compensation for the land has been paid to the family, who had been residing in houses built on the plot and cultivating the rest of the land. Despite this, around 30 CCL security personnel, accompanied by 20 police officers, arrived at the village with bulldozers and forcibly began demolishing the homes without any prior notice or legal authority.

The family members resisted the demolition but were allegedly threatened, intimidated, and forcibly detained by the police at Rajrappa police station. During their detention, the CCL team demolished their homes, including a four-room concrete house and a two-room thatched house. The destruction also included household items such as 50 quintals of rice, utensils, furniture, bedding, and essential documents like land deeds, bank passbooks, Aadhaar cards, and children's schoolbooks. Additionally, the bulldozers destroyed women’s jewelry stored in boxes and standing crops on the farmland, including pigeon pea, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, brinjals, and coriander, valued at crores of rupees.

The family was released from custody at 11 PM, only to return to find their homes and fields completely flattened. With no shelter, they were forced to spend the night in freezing conditions.

The CPIML fact-finding team has condemned the high-handedness of CCL and the police. They highlighted the abusive behaviour of male police officers towards women and the destruction of children’s educational materials as inhumane. The party has demanded immediate and comprehensive compensation for the affected family, along with strict action against those responsible for this illegal and inhumane act.