GMDC unveils ₹Rs 663 crore compensation package for Odisha’s Baitarani-West coal mine

Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) has unveiled a ₹663-crore ‘Land and Resettlement and Rehabilitation plan’ to operationalise its first coal mine in Odisha. This involves acquisition of 354 hectares of government and private land for the proposed ‘Baitarani-West’ coal mine.

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“This is Phase-1 of land acquisition for the mine, that we plan to operationalise by the financial year 2025-26,” said Roopwant Singh, Managing Director of the state-owned company that is primarily focused on lignite mining in Gujarat. The official told businessline that the company would begin its rehabilitation plan in the coming financial year, 2024-25. This is GMDC’s first project outside Gujarat. GMDC is the second largest producer of lignite in India.

The company has designed an R&R plan for 1,500 affected families living in and around three villages. “We have given each family an option of two packages. They will be compensated for the discomfort and loss of assets. Our package is an improvement on the compensation offered by NALCO in the region about three years ago,” Singh said. The land acquisition plan for this mine in Odisha comprises 154 hectares of government land, and almost 200 hectares of private land.

Under the first compensation package, each family will receive about ₹44 lakh as self-relocation and one-time cash payment. The second package offers a one-time cash payment of ₹20 lakh per family and ₹25,000 per month as annuity for 20 years. In a statement on Wednesday, GMDC said, “Key components of the land and R&R plan are its robust compensation and employment framework, designed to support the long-term financial stability of the affected families and land owners.” 

Once the plan is executed, Singh said “GMDC will move towards opening the mine with a peak rated capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum. This will be achieved in the next 5-6 years. This will be more than the 9 million tonnes of lignite that GMDC currently produces annually from five to six mines. The Baitarani mine will be among the top 20 coal mines of the country,” Singh added.

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In March 2023, GMDC won two coal blocks in Odisha — the Baitarani-West block in Angul district, having a geological reserve of 1,152 tonnes, and the Burapahar block in Sundargarh district with a geological reserve of 548 million tonnes.