Fifth RPDAC Meeting for Birla Alumina Refinery Held in Rayagada; Greater Transparency in CSR Projects Stressed
By Badal Tah, Odishabarta
Rayagada, August 19: After a gap of nearly two years, the fifth meeting of the Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) for the Aditya Alumina Refinery Project at Kansariguda, operated by Hindalco Industries of the Aditya Birla Group, was held on Tuesday at the Zilla Parishad Conference Hall in Rayagada.
The meeting was chaired by Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Southern Division, Brahmapur, Sangram Keshari Mahapatra. The fourth RPDAC meeting had been held on July 18, 2024.
During the meeting, Rayagada MLA Kadraka Appalaswamy expressed concern over the inordinate delay in convening the RPDAC meeting and questioned why the proceedings of the previous meeting had not been shared. The RDC directed the concerned authorities to provide the proceedings within a week.
As the RPDAC meetings could not be conducted regularly for various reasons, the RDC informed that a sub-committee would be constituted comprising the Collectors and SPs of Rayagada and Koraput, the Lok Sabha MP, MLAs of Rayagada and Laxmipur constituencies, the factory head and public representatives. The committee will examine various issues and submit its recommendations to the State Government for post-facto approval of CSR projects.
A major decision taken at the meeting was to increase the company’s CSR allocation from ₹32 crore last year to ₹50 crore this year. The company will also submit monthly reports on CSR expenditure to the Collectors of Rayagada and Koraput.
Dispute Over DP Status of Biriguda Families
Tension was witnessed outside the meeting venue over the demand for inclusion of all 209 families of Biriguda village in Koraput district as displaced persons (DPs). The RDC stated that during the initial survey, only 45 families had been identified as displaced.
The meeting resolved to place two options before the affected families. Under the first option, DP status would be granted to the 45 families identified during the original survey. Under the second option, the company could extend all facilities to all the families of Biriguda, but none would be accorded formal DP status. The community would decide which option it prefers, the RDC said.
A section of public representatives and affected people gathered outside the venue and alleged inadequate representation of affected families in the meeting. They also raised slogans against the company.
MP Seeks Transparency and Timely Compensation
Koraput Lok Sabha MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka raised the issue of DP status for residents of Biriguda Colony as well as pending ex-gratia payments for land acquired for the project.
Ulaka stressed that every valid and eligible displaced person should receive the benefits and dues legally entitled to them without further delay. He also called for greater transparency, accountability and community participation in CSR projects, emphasising that CSR funds should genuinely benefit the people and villages affected by the project.
“The rights and legitimate interests of displaced and affected families must remain the foremost priority,” Ulaka said.
RDC Sangram Keshari Mahapatra assured the gathering that the interests of the affected communities would remain the top priority throughout the process.
Rayagada Zilla Parishad Chairperson Saraswati Majhi, Koraput ZP Chairperson Rashmita Meleka, Laxmipur MLA Pabitra Saunta, Koraput District Magistrate Manoj Satyawan Mahajan, the SPs of Rayagada and Koraput, representatives of affected areas including Kashipur block, and Aditya Birla Alumina Refinery CEO Mazhar Beig attended the meeting.
CSR and R&R Head Tanmay Mohanty and other officials of the refinery were also present.
Rayagada SDPO Gourahari Sahu, along with officers-in-charge of several police stations and police personnel, was deployed around the venue as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.
