Ambikapur, Dec 4 (PTI) More than 30 police personnel were injured when a group of villagers protesting against the expansion of an open-cast coal mine clashed with them and hurled stones in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, officials said.

Some villagers were also injured in the face-off which occurred on Wednesday.

Residents of Parsodi Kala village in the Bishrampur area have been opposing the extension of the Amera coal project of South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of Coal India, despite the land acquisition process being completed long back, the officials said.

The SECL claimed in a statement that the villagers were instigated by a few persons who have vested interests and indulge in illegal activities like coal pilferage.

After pacifying the villagers, mining activities resumed in the mine on Wednesday evening, the officials said.

On learning about the protest, district officials along with police reached the site, which falls under the jurisdiction of Lakhanpur police station, Additional District Collector Sunil Nayak told reporters.

While some villagers received compensation for land acquisition, many others refused to accept money and tried to obstruct mining operations, he claimed.

Officials tried to explain to the villagers that land acquisition had already been completed in 2016 and they should allow the SECL to carry out its authorised activities, said Nayak.

"If they (villagers) want to raise their concerns, there are legal avenues," the official added.

However, the protest turned violent and the police personnel were pelted with stones, Nayak said, adding that the cops who suffered serious injuries were admitted to the district hospital.

Villagers were urged to cooperate with the authorities and not obstruct mining operations, he said.

"More than 30 police personnel sustained injuries in the stone pelting. The situation has been brought under control and activities related to mining have resumed," Inspector General of Police (Surguja Range) Dipak Jha told PTI.

Videos of the incident showed protesters entering the Amera coal mine premises and engaging in clashes with the police, who resorted to lathi-charge and also lobbed teargas shells to disperse them.

The statement issued by the SECL said the Amera Opencast Mine is a 1.0 MTPA Project situated at Bishrampur in Surguja district.

The land required for the mine falls in Parsodi Kala, Amera, Puhputra and Katkona villages. It was acquired in 2001 and the mining operations commenced in 2011, the release said.

Production continued till 2019 and had to be suspended on account of the stiff resistance of certain villagers demanding benefits beyond the statutory/approved norms, it said.

It is understood that these villagers are instigated by a few persons who have vested interests like coal pilferage and other illegal activities. FIRs were also filed in this regard, the release said.

The mine was restarted in 2024 after possessing additional land with the intervention of the state administration and having paid the due compensation and Resettlement & Rehabilitation benefits to the Project Affected Persons (PAPs), it said.

Since then, the process of taking possession of the land has been carried out in phases, and so far, land compensation to the tune of around Rs 10 crore has been disbursed to the PAPs of Parsodi Kala village and employment is being provided as per the modalities agreed in the District R&R Committee involving the villagers, it said.

As the mine progressed towards Parsodi Kala village as a part of its extension phase, the landowners, instigated by miscreants with vested interests, started agitation, refusing to vacate their land which has been acquired under the Coal Bearing (Acquisition & Development) Act, 1957, said Sanish Chandra, Public Relations Officer of SECL, Bilaspur.

They also indulged in violent activities, eventuating the suspension of mine operations from November 8 this year. The matter was taken up with the district and state administration, soliciting their intervention, he said.

On Wednesday, the district administration officials and police along with the mine officials visited the project at 10 am to negotiate with the protesters of the village and to resume operations. The villagers, without heeding the request of officials, immediately started throwing stones at the officials and police personnel, injuring them, he said.

An additional police force was mobilised and the protesters were dispersed. Subsequently, mining operations resumed partially from 5 pm, he said.

Leelavati, one of the protesters from Parsodi Kala, said she would not part with her land.

"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? Our entire land is being taken for the mine," she said.

Alok Shukla, convener of Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan (CBA), which has been at the forefront of protests against the allotment of coal mines in biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand area in Surguja and adjoining areas, demanded the government's intervention into the matter and an immediate halt to the Amera mine extension project.

The CBA strongly condemns the alleged brutal police repression against villagers in the Parsodi Kala area, he said.

It was a clear violation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, and the Forest Rights Recognition Act, he claimed. PTI COR TKP KRK NP GK