More than thirty police personnel sustained injuries during a violent confrontation with villagers protesting against the expansion of an open-cast coal mine in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district. The clash, which also left several villagers hurt, occurred on Wednesday in the Bishrampur area.
Roots of the Conflict: Land Acquisition and Resistance
Residents of Parsodi Kala village have been steadfastly opposing the extension of the Amera coal project operated by South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of Coal India. This resistance persists despite the land acquisition process being formally completed years ago. Officials state that while some villagers accepted compensation, many others have refused the money and continue to obstruct mining operations.
Additional District Collector Sunil Nayak explained that officials attempted to reason with the protesters, informing them that land acquisition was finalized in 2016. He urged them to utilize legal channels for their grievances instead of blocking authorized activities. "If they want to raise their concerns, there are legal avenues," Nayak emphasized.
A Day of Violence and Disruption
The situation escalated dramatically on Wednesday morning. District officials and police, led by Nayak, visited the project site under Lakhanpur police station jurisdiction to negotiate with the villagers and facilitate the resumption of work. According to accounts, the protesters disregarded these attempts at dialogue and began pelting stones at the officials and police force.
"The protest turned violent and the police personnel were pelted with stones," Nayak reported, adding that officers with serious injuries were admitted to the district hospital. Inspector General of Police (Surguja Range) Dipak Jha confirmed that over 30 police personnel were injured in the stone-pelting incident.
Videos from the scene captured protesters entering the mine premises and clashing with police, who responded with lathi-charge and teargas shells to disperse the crowd. Following the intervention of additional police forces, the situation was brought under control, and partial mining operations resumed by 5 PM on the same day.
Divergent Narratives: Company Claims and Villagers' Plight
In an official statement, SECL presented its version of events. The company stated that the Amera Opencast Mine is a 1.0 MTPA project where land was acquired back in 2001, with mining starting in 2011. Production continued until 2019 when it was suspended due to local resistance.
SECL claimed the mine restarted in 2024 after the state administration's intervention, with due compensation and Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) benefits paid to Project Affected Persons (PAPs). The company alleges that compensation of around ₹10 crore has been disbursed to PAPs of Parsodi Kala alone, along with employment offers as per district committee agreements.
SECL's Public Relations Officer, Sanish Chandra, accused "miscreants with vested interests" of instigating the agitation, linking them to illegal activities like coal pilferage. He stated that the current landowners are refusing to vacate land legally acquired under the Coal Bearing Act of 1957.
Contrasting this, the protesters voice deep emotional and economic attachment to their land. Leelavati, a protester from Parsodi Kala, expressed her despair: "We love our land and do not want to give it away. SECL will get coal, but what will happen to us? Our ancestors lived and earned their livelihood from this land.... Should my son and grandson be reduced to begging?"
The protest has drawn attention from activists as well. Alok Shukla, convener of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), condemned the police action and demanded immediate government intervention to halt the mine extension. He argued that the incident violates constitutional protections for scheduled areas, including the PESA Act and the Forest Rights Act.
