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People"s victory over IFFCO thermal plant

People A two-and-a-half-year long fight has resulted in victory for Chhattisgarh villagers. The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd (iffco) withdrew its proposal of setting up a coal-based power plant in Chandan Nagar in Sarguja district in March. "The gram sabha was firm and the result is before us. The pesa act (Panchayats Extension To The Scheduled Areas Act, 1996) worked to our advantage,' says Mehendi Lal Yadav, an activist who led villagers against iffco under the banner of Gram Sabha Parishad. iffco has now moved base to a site 10 km away from Chandan Nagar.

The victory comes after a series of protests against the proposed 1,000 mw thermal power plant. Villagers allege the company had conducted "secret surveys' before approaching them with the proposal. They reacted by attacking iffco officials (see