Dumka, May 25: In a major boost to anti-displacement activists and villagers, the district administration has directed CESC and JSPL — the companies eyeing power plant projects at Kathikund and Shikaripara — to get the approval of gram sabhas to land acquisition.

In a review meeting of government as well as private projects on Monday, deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar directed the companies to approach the gram sabhas first, before asking the administration to set off the land acquisition process.

The industries have been keen to set up mega power plants in the district, after signing MoUs with the state government in 2005.

According to the MoUs, CESC will set up a 1000MW power plant at Kathikund. The administration had already taken steps to help the company acquire land for the project. But it met with serious protests, resulting in the infamous police firing on protestors at Kathikund in December 2008.

Kumar said CESC had shifted the site of its power plant from Kathikund to Ramgarh block of the district.

On the other hand, JSPL plans to set up two power units at Shikaripara having an installed capacity of 1,320MW each, but the administration has not initiated the process of land acquisition so far. JSPL employees also faced resistance from villagers during a survey of the coal block allotted to it.