Bhubaneswar, April 14: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today said his government will ?reach out? to those who face the threat of displacement from Posco and ?educate them on the benefits of the mega project?.

Three days after panchayati raj minister Damodar Rout faced opposition from a group of anti-Posco activists during his visit to Dhinkia village in Jagatsinghpur district, the chief minister said the people will be taken into confidence in matters related to the project.

?Very soon, the villagers will be told how the Posco project will benefit them. The benefits of the Posco steel plant include employment and revenue. This needs to be explained to the people,? said Patnaik.

About the still-in-the-making rehabilitation and resettlement policy for the displaced, the chief minister claimed that it would be the ?best in the country?.

On April 11, the panchayati raj minister was greeted with protests by scores of men and women who fear that the Posco plant will make them homeless.

At a meeting addressed by Rout, pro-Posco and anti-Posco groups clashed with each other and in the stone-pelting that followed, two persons were injured.

A group of women also ?detained? a police party for several hours to protest against the arrest of some anti-Posco demonstrators.

Patnaik, who returned to Orissa after attending the chief ministers? meeting on Left-wing extremism in Delhi, admitted that the Naxalite threat was growing.

The chief minister said he was hopeful that the Centre will provide more funds for the state?s fight against the Maoists and modernisation of the police force. ?They seem to be very serious,? he added. ?We will also concentrate on the socio-economic development of the entire state, including the Naxalite-affected areas.?

Speaking on intelligence reports that the NTPC plants at Kaniha and Talcher in Angul were under threat, Patnaik said no one should get panicky as the necessary precautionary measures have been adopted.