Alleging threats and surveillance by the police on locals at Deocha Pachami in West Bengal Birbhum district, civil rights organisations on Friday said that people of the area should have the right of movement and say no to the proposed coal mining project.

“Any person has the right to say no the coal project. There should be freedom of movement particularly when the coal mining project is likely to affect thousands of families. Those who are in favour of the project should also say what they have to and let people decide,” Anuradha Talwar, of Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity said releasing an interim report on the survey done by a group of six activists.

Ms. Talwar, who was part of the team visiting the area said that several people including journalists are being stopped from visiting the area and compared the situation in Mohammed Bazar in Birbhum to the situation in Singur and Nandigram during the Left Front government.

“We are getting a sense of Deja Vu, like Singur and Nandigram, where people are not allowed to enter, there is high police presence and anyone entering is being branded Maoists. Only the party in power has changed it seems,” she said.

Ms. Talwar who has been active during forcible land acquisition at Singur and Nandigram said that it is very unfortunate that such a situation exists during the regime of a party, which came to power fighting against forcible land acquisition.

The interim report prepared by Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity and Shramjibi Mahila Samity based on their visit to Deocha Pachami earlier this month, refers to people being picked up at night and threatened. The report refers to a team of human rights activists being blocked by goons and another team of trade union activists stopped by supporters of the project.

The report points out that the State government and the ruling party leaders have been propagating the idea that everyone is very happy with the coal mine but people are asking if everything is with the consent of people then Why is there so much police presence in the villages?

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on February 6, during the Bengal Global Business Summit announced work at the Deocha Pachami coal mining project. The ₹35,000 crore coal mining project is being touted as the largest coal block in India and the second-largest coal block in the world, with an estimated reserve of 1,240 million tonnes (MT) of coal and 2,675 MT of basalt. The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd. (WBPDCL) is the executing agency and the project has become a prestige issue for the West Bengal government.

Subha Protim Roy Chowdhury of PBKMS said that without the full consent of gram sabhas, the coal or basalt mining should not be done. “In view of global climate change, the use of the jungle land for industrial purposes is anti- environment, this action should not be taken,” he said.

Udbhas Das, an activist, said that there is frantic activity in the region after the February 6 announcement and it is very difficult to visit the area, he has been going for years. Mr. Das said that there has been no Environment Impact Assessment nor a Detailed Project report and questioned the State government decision to relocate trees of the forest for mining.

Jui Koley, another activist, said that the area is inhabited by tribals who do not have basic sanitation facilities and most families do not have toilets at home. “The health centres and anganwadis are dysfunctional, the children are taught in Bengali in Santhali medium school,” she said, adding that development would mean improving these facilities not uprooting people.