Gridlock Over ₹130-Crore Tax Dues Freezes Lakhanpur Coal Supply; Over 3,000 Families Face Livelihood Crisis

JHARSUGUDA: A deepening administrative deadlock between Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) and the state government has completely halted coal transportation in the Lakhanpur area, triggering widespread public resentment, a severe livelihood crisis, and major environmental hazards.

The crisis erupted on the first of the month when the state’s Mining Department abruptly stopped issuing essential transit permits. According to Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Deputy Director of Mines (Sambalpur), the action was taken because MCL’s Lakhanpur area owes approximately ₹130 crore in outstanding tax dues. The state government recently unified its transit permit tax, pushing all grades of coal into the highest tax slab—a policy shift that MCL has legally challenged. Because the matter is currently pending before a tribunal, MCL has refused to clear the disputed rates, resulting in total bureaucratic gridlock.

Seeking urgent intervention, the Bandhabahal Truck Association submitted a written complaint to the District Collector. However, two days have passed without any administrative breakthrough. As a result, local frustration is peaking, and the region is rapidly edging toward active public unrest.
Members of Bandhabahal Truck Association said that The sudden freeze has brought the local economy to a grinding halt. More than 1,000 trucks that normally transport coal daily have been grounded, directly threatening the survival of 3,000 to 4,000 families—including truck owners, drivers, helpers, and small roadside vendors.

The logistics chokehold is also crippling rail supply chains. While MCL PRO B. Behuria declined to give an official comment, Mr. Ghanshyam, Assistant Railway Manager (ARM) for Brajrajnagar Railway, confirmed that rake loading operations out of Lakhanpur have plummeted.

While outward transportation has completely stopped, coal mining operations have continued uninterrupted for the past four days. This operational mismatch has caused massive, unstable stockpiles of coal to accumulate rapidly across the yard.Safety experts warn that these large, stagnant mounds face an immediate and escalating risk of spontaneous combustion, which could reduce vital national energy assets to ashes. Making matters worse, the Lakhanpur coalfield had only recently managed to clear out its old stock, meaning the facility is now facing a critical shortage of storage space to handle this sudden bottleneck.