Chita Majhyaian at her home in the area occupied by Nilachal Iron and Steel company at Ratanpur in Seraikela-Kharsawan. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Ratanpur (Seraikela-Kharsawan), Jan. 8: Chita Majhyaian (60), a tribal, refuses to vacate her ancestral home, which falls inside the Neelachal Iron and Power Limited (NIPL) premises. The private company has started production.

The sponge iron unit, which has a proposed investment of Rs 450 crore spread over a period, started work from July 2005. It had purchased the plots in the area and now has in its possession the land around Majhyaian?s property. But the woman remains adamant and has put forth certain demands.

?I am a tribal and no one can displace me forcibly from my ancestral land. My late husband was a railway employee and I am looking after my six sons, two daughters-in-law, one daughter and four grandchildren from the pension that I receive from the railways,? said Majhyaian, whose 10-decimal plot is located on NIPL premises.

She wants at least three permanent jobs for her family, a six-room residence, land at a suitable location, compensation against her ancestral plot and reimbursement for about dozen teak trees she had planted in her 50s; never mind the pollution hazards she and her family have been subjected to since the last six months.

Her two daughters-in-law, Revati Besra and Baha Besra (both in their late 20s), and Majhyaian?s teenage daughter often work as daily-wage labourers for the contractor hired by NIPL. ?We get Rs 70 per day,? said Revati, before demanding, ?The company should provide a permanent job to my husband.?

Sources in NIPL said they tried best and even ?took the services? of local tribal bodies to convince Majhyaian to part with her ?valuable? plot.

?The Seraikela-Kharsawan district administration intervened and arranged a plot for her and promised a house, too. We tried to compensate for the land and offered a permanent job to the family. But it did not work,? said Rajesh Kumar Mishra, deputy manager (industrial relations and estates), NIPL.

NIPL sources said the state government had promised to arrange land for the company. But when that did not materialise, the management decided to directly purchase plots from individuals in Ratanpur locality. Majhyaian?s plot falls under the same stretch of 64 acres the company wanted to buy but the tribal woman has been holding out.

?The management is aware of the pollution faced by Majhyaian family. We have apprised the administration about it,? said an NIPL official.

Gamharia circle officer Lal Mohan Mahto said they were ready to provide a plot of over 10 decimal to the woman and also help the family through government programmes like Indira Awas or Birsas Awas. But she refused to accept the plot citing superstitious reason, they added.