Justice still eludes Hirakud dam oustees

Bhubaneswar: Naveen Patnaik Government has finally woken to up from its slumber to fulfill the long standing demands of the people who had been displaced by the construction of the Hirakud ram six decades ago.Since relief and rehabilitation of the people affected by the project had remained unresolved for so long, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (North) Pramod Meherda has directed the District Collectors concerned to settle the issues within a month.The districts where compensation had to be paid to the affected families include Sambalpur, Bargarh, Jharsuguda and Subarnapur.According to official sources, while a sum of Rs.1.13 crore was to be distributed among the affected people in Jharsuguda district, Rs.47 lakh was to be distributed in Sambalpur, Rs.34 lakh in Bargarh, and Rs.5.16 lakh in Subarnapur.The administration has also decided to accord revenue village status to four villages in Sambalpur district and one village in Jharsuguda district that were in possession of the State government’s Water Resources Department.These five villages had been deprived of relief and rehabilitation as they had not been declared revenue villages till date.