Rehabilitation of fire-affected victims of Jharia in Dhanbad district has received a fresh thrust with finalisation of a tender that will facilitate construction of another set of 2,000 quarters for relocating the displaced.

On Thursday, Jharia Rehabilitation and Development Authority (JRDA), the agency that is implementing the Rs 7,028-crore Jharia master plan, selected Bokaro's Hindustan Steelworks Construction Limited (HSCL) for building 2,000 quarters on 28 acres at Nipania Mouza in Baliapur block after opening the financial bid of the Rs 84-crore tender.

The HSCL was the lowest bidder.

The development assumes significance because the tender for the Nipania Mouza project was earlier cancelled twice, in 2012 and 2013, owing to reasons like unavailability of dispute-free land.

The proposed 2,000 quarters will be the third residential colony project of JRDA.

The first colony of 2,352 quarters has been developed on 45 acres in Belgarhia in March 2010 while construction of the second batch of 2,000 flats is going on in another 18.5-acre plot at the same place.

JRDA is preparing a detailed project report for a fourth colony of 2,000 quarters on 30 acres in Belgarhia.

Chief manager (civil), JRDA, Sunil Dalela said: 'We opened the financial bid for the Nipania Mouza project yesterday (Thursday) and the lowest bidder was selected. But the final approval will be given by the JRDA board at a meeting on February 17.'

Apart from HSCL, two other companies - Kamaladitya Construction Private Limited and Supreme Infrastructure India Limited - had responded to the tender.

Speaking about the fourth project, Dalela said that the Bill of Quantity (BOQ) a document required for floating the tender, was ready.

'BCCL had given us a total of 103 acres in Belgarhia to build residential quarters for those displaced by the colliery fires. Of the total acres, around 45 acres were used to construct the first 2,352 quarters. For the second batch of 2,000 quarters, we initially allotted another 45 acres but scaled it down to around 18.5 acres after local villagers refused to vacate the plot. Now, we will be building another 2,000 flats on a 30-acre plot as the fourth project,' Dalela said, adding that they made certain modifications to the original plan to ensure maximum utilisation of whatever land is available in Belgarhia.

'For construction of common service facilities like schools, burial grounds, crematorium, watch towers etc, we will be using government land,' he added.

Dhanbad's outgoing deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar, who is also the managing director of JRDA, said: 'The DPR for the fourth project for construction of 2,000 quarters will be approved after its finalisation.'