Naveen Jindal

Jamshedpur, Feb. 2: Neither the sponsored trip to the Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) plant in Raigarh, in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, nor the hospitality extended by the company officials has been enough to convince the residents of the Asanboni and its adjoining hamlets to give up their land.

The villagers are still in two minds about what they should do.

Though the majority of the visitors to the Raigarh plant ? a total of 45 had gone ?praised the rehabilitation package offered by the Jindals in Chhattisgarh, they are still awaiting a ?feasible? rehabilitation package offered either by the company or the state government.

The Jindals who set up shop in Raigarh since the early 90?s have proposed to set up a five-million-tonne steel plant and a captive power unit with a total investment of over Rs 11,000 crore at Asanboni, where they are still facing resistance from insecure villagers.

The JSPL, whose managing director is Naveen Jindal, had identified over 5,500 acres, comprising government, private and forest land in the Asanboni area of East Singhbhum district.

?The Jindals have made the area like heaven. They have offered prices against private plots in accordance with the prevalent market rate or even above that, house against house, jobs to the dependents of the displaced (depending on their educational qualification), provision for training for the displaced for specific technical jobs etc,? said Sunderlal Das of village Beergaon, who returned from Raigarh trip yesterday.

Das admitted that the villagers had been extended warm hospitality at the company?s guesthouse, where they were served meals that consisted of mutton and fish.

?The displaced population have been offered jobs according to their educational qualification and have also been provided good houses,? he said. Another villager, Dhiren Tudu of village Khudapal, informed they had talked to the people who had been rehabilitated at Raigarh and there was no voice of resentment against the company.

But clearly none of the answers seemed to have satisfied them. ?We even asked the company officials on what they would give us in Jharkhand. They promised us a lot of things but we still cannot make up out minds,? confessed another villager who added that they were offered gifts like blankets, leather bags, diaries etc on their return journeys.

Asked about the January 31 incident when a violent and abusive mob had held three officials from the company hostage for nearly two hours for venturing into Asaboni, the villagers said: ?The mob was instigated by the brick-kiln owners who do not want to shift from there. The majority here are ready to part with their land if the company offers a good compensation and rehabilitation package.?