BHUBANESWAR: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has issued a notice to Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra over the plight of lakhs of scheduled tribe (ST) people displaced by various projects in different parts of Odisha.
The commission issued this notice on Wednesday after hearing a petition filed by rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy. It has sought a reply from the top official within thirty days.
In his petition, Tripathy has cited various issues related to displacement of tribals in almost every district of Odisha. “The tribals suffer immensely due to the execution of projects related to dams, irrigation, industrial or any other reasons. Some of these projects including Hirakud Dam in Sambalpur, five major projects in Koraput like Machkund Hydroelectric Project (1950), Lower-Suktel Project in Balangir, Rengali multipurpose project in Angul, Balimela reservoir project in Malkangiri and many more,” he added.
