Bhubaneswar, Nov 15 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday announced that nearly 2,000 families of Jharsuguda district who were displaced during the construction of Hirakud dam over the Mahanadi river, almost 60 years ago, will be provided homestead land by the state government.

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Patnaik made this announcement while virtually launching the distribution of smart health cards under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) in Jharsuguda district.

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Around 1.15 lakh people of the district will benefit from the smart health cards.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had earlier issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the action taken to address the sufferings of people displaced by the construction of the Hirakud dam.

Odisha's Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Northern Division, in his reply to the NHRC, had submitted that the land was acquired in 1952-53 for the Hirakud dam project from the people of Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, and Subarnapur districts.

The RDC had pointed out that issues regarding payment of ex gratia, homestead land, settlement of agriculture land, and basic amenities had been settled, and no case of rehabilitation was pending.

However, revenue department officials had admitted that certain service groups in the society were not awarded full compensation and were yet to be rehabilitated.

Official sources said that a total of 73,923 hectares of land was submerged due to the construction of the Hirakud dam. This included 49,920 hectares of agricultural land and 24,003 hectares of government land.

Of the 111 fully submerged villages , 108 villages were in Odisha. This apart, 174 villages were partially submerged (141 in Odisha and 33 in Chhattisgarh).

Around, 18,000 families were displaced for the dam project, they said.

Meanwhile, Jharsuguda has now become the 12th district in the state to be included in the BSKY smart health card scheme.

Patnaik also launched projects worth Rs 297 crore for the district which included the inauguration of projects worth Rs 144 crore and laying of the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 153 crore.

Two water treatment plants for Jharsuguda and Brajrajnagar towns were also inaugurated.

Mentioning that drinking water projects worth Rs 618 crore are being implemented in the district, Patnaik said 1.22 lakh families in Jharsuguda district will get safe drinking water by June 2022.

The chief minister also announced that work on the construction of a cardiac hospital in Jharsuguda at an investment of Rs 102 crore will be completed soon.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)