Demolished betel vineyards are being rebuilt in Gobindpur village under the proposed Posco steel project area. Telegraph picture

Paradip, June 13: Villagers resisting land acquisition for the 12-million-tonne Posco steel project have begun rebuilding demolished betel vineyards in Gobindpur village even as authorities described the act as “illegal”. The Jagatsinghpur district administration had pulled those down those betel vineyards for the Posco steel project.

Gobindpur village bore a busy look in the wake of the land acquisition exercise being suspended for five days. Eighty-year-old Shankarshan Behera, whose betel vineyard was allegedly pulled down forcibly by the district administration, said: “I am trying to salvage the damage done to my vineyard. I have not received a compensation cheque against land acquisition. My fellow villagers have helped me out in repairing the damaged fence. The vineyard has more or less come back to its earlier shape though nearly one-forth of the betel leaves have been damaged due to the demolition drive.”

Sisir Kumar Mahapatra, general secretary of Posco Pratirodh Sangam Samiti (PPSS), an anti-Posco outfit, said the betel vineyards were dismantled forcibly in the absence of the growers. In protest, the farmers did not accept compensation cheques against the so-called acquisition of land. “The betel vine growers have resolved to rebuild the vineyards. Of the 37 demolished betel vines, around 17 have so far been re-erected,” said Mahapatra.

“The process of rebuilding betel vineyards by farmers is making it amply clear that there has been forcible land acquisition in Gobindapur area from unwilling farmers. We have constituted four teams of volunteers to extend help to the betel farmers in rebuilding the demolished vineyards,” said PPSS president Abhaya Sahu.

Special land acquisition officer Nrusingha Charan Swain, under whose stewardship the land acquisition process is going on, however, refuted the allegation about forcing landowners to give away their land.

Justifying the demolition of betel vineyards in absence of the owners, Swain said: “We did it following law as the area fell under encroached government land category. It should not be construed that the land acquisition was forcible. The police were deployed there to provide security to us but not to use force on people,” he said.

“As the land has been acquired and compensation has been paid against the acquired land, the betel farmers have no right whatsoever to reclaim the plot again for restructuring the betel vines. The administration has made an appeal to the people to desist from unlawful practice,” said additional district magistrate Saroj Kanta Choudhury.

“The land acquisition process is scheduled to resume on June 16. We would be forced to pull down the rebuilt vineyards,” Choudhury added.