Ranchi/Dhanbad: Fire-affected sites in Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL)s Jharia coalfields in Dhanbad have been reduced from 77 to 27 over the past two decades, the Union ministry of coal has claimed in a statement.The fire-affected areas significantly reduced from 77 sites in the pre-nationalisation era to 67 sites as the Jharia Master Plan of 2009, covering 17.3 sq km to 27 sites covering 1.8 sq km, according to surveys conducted in 2021, the ministry said in a statement issued late Monday night.The ministry further said a process is underway to allot over 8,000 houses to families who are to be shifted out of the fire-prone zones and rehabilitated under the Jharia Master Plan of 2009.Three categories of population need rehabilitation which include legal title holders, non-legal title holders and the families of BCCL employees. Initially, the BCCL was to construct 25,000 houses but the numbers were reduced to 15,713 due to superannuation and other reasons. Till date, the BCCL has constructed 11,798 houses while the remaining are under construction, the ministry said.BCCL sources in its headquarters in Dhanbad said the ministry has handed down strict deadlines to the Dhanbad district administration when it came to phased rehabilitation of the families. However, the Dhanbad district administrative officials, including deputy commissioner Varun Ranjan, did not respond to TOIs calls and messages when contacted on Tuesday.Notably, the implementation of the Jharia Master Plan is supposed to be carried out by the Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority. The BCCL only disburses funds for the plans implementation, a BCCL official told TOI on anonymity.We also published the following articles recentlyDGP aims to curb crime in coal belt of Bokaro, DhanbadThe Director General of Police (DGP) of Jharkhand, Ajay Kumar, held a high-level meeting in Bokaro to enhance security and combat criminal activities in the coal-rich regions of Bokaro and Dhanbad. The meeting involved top-ranking police officials and focused on strategies to detect and combat crimes, including economic crimes and organized criminal activities. The DGP emphasized the importance of conducting regional reviews to address and tackle crimes within the districts. The meeting also discussed the formation of a task force to combat economic crimes and illegal activities in the region.Dhanbad biz community keen to invest in Ranchi Smart City ProjectThe business community in Dhanbad is optimistic about investing in the Ranchi Smart City project. However, they have concerns about high residential rates and the potential acquisition of plots by wealthy outsiders. They urge the government to provide discounts to residents. The president of the Federation of Dhanbad Chamber of Commerce suggests that similar projects should be planned for Dhanbad. Meanwhile, the Bhopal Smart City project is facing challenges such as encroachment, lack of infrastructure, and delays in completion. Land monetization is being considered to make the project self-sustainable.Chatra MP raises security issue with Dhanbad DRMThe Chatra BJP MP, Sunil Kr Singh, has raised concerns about the lack of security officials on the Sambalpur-Jammu Tawi Express, which was robbed recently. Despite the train having 20 coaches, there were only three unarmed security personnel. Singh has spoken to the divisional railway manager about this issue. The lack of security is due to a long-standing order to remain unarmed in areas with Naxal threats. The robbers attacked and robbed passengers, injuring eight of them. A police report has been filed, stating that belongings worth over Rs 1 lakh were stolen.

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