Villagers near coal mine raise rehabilitation, jobs concerns, may move Nagpur High Court

Questions that have simmered for a long time in villages around the Arvindo coal mine project, including Belora, Jena and Nivali, have now taken an administrative and legal turn. Villagers have raised direct questions about coal excavation, blasting, management of overburden, employment for local unemployed people, the rehabilitation process and administrative aspects of the project. The issue is being raised before the administration under the leadership of social activist Pooja Gajanan Pimpalkar, and villagers have decided that if action is not taken as expected, they will approach the Nagpur bench of the High Court.

After the mining project began, Pooja Pimpalkar filed applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005 with the district administration, the Sub-Divisional Officer, Warora, and the district mining department, seeking information on the administrative and legal basis on which the project is running, what permissions have been obtained, and how the rehabilitation process is being carried out. In response, the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer (Rehabilitation), Chandrapur, sent a letter dated September 1, 2026 to the Public Information Officer-cum-District Mining Officer, Chandrapur. The letter stated that the related information and file are with the mining department office, and that under Section 6(3) of the Right to Information Act, the application had been forwarded to that office.

The letter from the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer (Rehabilitation) mentioned the process of purchasing land in 11 villages: Belora, Gotala Rith, Ashti Rith, Takli, Panwadala, Khandala Rith, Dongargaon Khadi, Govardip Rith, Jena-Nivali, Kiloni and Somnala Rith. The letter also stated that the rehabilitation and resettlement of Mouza Belora village is to be carried out by the Arvindo company, and that rehabilitation action for Belora village has already been completed, while rehabilitation action for the remaining villages is being carried out by the company administration. Notably, the Sub-Divisional Officer (Rehabilitation) office stated clearly that it does not have any file related to the remaining rehabilitation action, and that the company administration alone is handling further action.

With applications seeking information on permissions, administrative process and rehabilitation being forwarded from one government office to another under the RTI applications, villagers are asking which office actually takes the real decision and who is held responsible. Since the letter from the Sub-Divisional Officer (Rehabilitation) stated that the information and file are linked to the district mining office, villagers are demanding that the district mining department clearly disclose the permissions, approvals and conditions required for the mining project.

Pooja Pimpalkar has also previously demanded that the company administration provide employment in the Arvindo project to 40 unemployed young men and women from farmers, farm laborers and local families affected by the project. According to villagers, instead of employing all 40 people at once, the company administration had promised to employ five unemployed young men and women from the village every month, but villagers refused to accept this condition and demanded that all 40 unemployed people be given jobs together. Villagers allege that even after this much time has passed, not a single unemployed person has been given a job yet.

Villagers also claim that blasting in the mining area has caused cracks in several houses in Belora, Jena and Nivali, and that the roofs of some houses have even been blown off. Villagers say the shocks from blasting are damaging homes, and are demanding an official panchnama and technical survey of these houses to assess the damage, with affected families given compensation and assistance as per rules.

Villagers have also objected to the management of overburden generated from the mine. They allege that soil is being dumped on the overburden in disregard of rules, raising concerns about dust pollution, water flow and impact on the surrounding environment. Villagers are demanding that the administration itself visit the site to check under what rules the overburden is being stored and disposed of.

While the government letter states that rehabilitation action is being carried out through the company administration, villagers claim that several complaints from local residents remain unresolved. For this reason, villagers have demanded that the district administration conduct an impartial investigation into the entire matter and clarify its position. Villagers said the administration needs to pay separate attention to all these issues: employment, damage to homes, blasting, overburden management and rehabilitation. They also expressed hope that local elected representatives would come forward to get the administration to clarify the facts.

If the administration does not act as expected, a petition will be filed in the Nagpur bench of the High Court drawing the court's attention to all these issues: administrative permissions related to the project, the rehabilitation process, environmental issues, the damage said to have been caused by blasting, overburden management and employment for local people, this was stated at a press conference. Present at the press conference were Pooja Gajanan Pimpalkar, Pragya Bhoyar, Kunal Kudkar, Harshada Wakde, along with affected villagers from Belora, Jena, Nivali and surrounding areas, who expressed their intention to continue the fight for their demands at both the administrative and legal levels.