Villagers in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district have strongly demanded the return of nearly 1,000 acres of land acquired for a power project that never started. The land from Khadagprasad and Khurunti villages was taken in 2008 for a 1,320 MW coal-based power plant by Hyderabad’s Lanco Group. Villagers gave their land hoping for jobs and received only ₹3 lakh to ₹6 lakh per acre. Binod Kumar Sahoo from Khadagprasad said, “We were hopeful of regular jobs, and some villagers started earning by supplying essential commodities to the project. But the plant never became operational, and we were left in the lurch.” Abinash Samal added that laws say land must be returned if a project fails within five years, but this never happened. Despite repeated approaches to the Dhenkanal district collector, villagers’ pleas were ignored. Villagers’ lawyer Lalitendu Mishra said, “Lanco Group had moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for liquidation.” He also said the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) approved land transfer at just ₹10 lakh per acre without consulting villagers. Mishra claimed a third company later bought the land for about ₹100 crore. “Where else in the world is industrial land available at such a low cost? Villagers feel cheated,” he said. Sahoo mentioned a new plan to build a steel plant there, which villagers oppose due to pollution fears. He demanded, “It would be better to restore the land to the original owners. The government must also ensure that pending dues of villagers who supplied materials to Lanco Group are cleared.”