"Why workers at an Adani power plant who gave up land for jobs went on a hunger strike", 14 May 2025

The plant, in Jharkhand’s Godda district, supplies power to Bangladesh. Workers say the company has failed to fulfill its promises to them.

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..several workers at Adani Power’s thermal power plant in Godda, Jharkhand, received an email that left them enraged. The email contained a contract that stated that the workers were being hired by a company named Riddhi Corporate Services, for their client Adani Power. Though the contract bore the date on which they received the message, it stated that their “date of joining” was almost two years earlier, May 5, 2023. Four days later, around 180 employees who had been shifted to the second company decided to protest this move. The workers constructed a small tent next to the main gate of the power plant and sat there on a hunger strike. The workers were angry because many had given up their land to the company for the construction of the power plant. While they had received compensation for their land, under the terms of the acquisition, they had further entitlements that, they argued, were being denied.

..Human rights activists have from the start alleged that the company has violated the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act by forcefully acquiring land from villagers for the project. ..a total of 841 families were impacted by the construction of the plant..

..an Adani Power spokesperson stated, “Job opportunities and one time settlement has been offered as per Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 and Jharkhand government’s Rehabilitation & Resettlement Committee’s guidelines and regulations.” ..“For any open position, first preference is given to locals with matching skills.” ..“The decision to change the outsourcing partner was formally communicated well in advance and all employees have seamlessly been accommodated in the new company.”