Bhubaneswar, July 4: Posco-India, the Indian subsidiary of South Korean steel giant Posco, crossed a major hurdle today with the state government completing the land acquisition exercise for its eight-million-tonne project near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.
The conclusion of the third and final phase of land acquisition paves the way for beginning preliminary constructions for the project that has been in limbo since the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government more than eight years ago.
“The 2,700 acres that the South Korean steel-maker requires for the project have been acquired with the final phase of the exercise coming to an end today,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick, as workers engaged by the district administration pulled down 28 betel vineyards at Gobindpur.
Sources said there was hardly any resistance to the morning operation launched by the district administration.
“Most of the people voluntarily came forward to hand over their land in return for compensation,” said Paradip additional district magistrate Surajit Das, who supervised the exercise.
The focus of the final phase of land acquisition was Gobindpur, which accounted for 700 acres. In the two earlier phases, 2,000 acres had been acquired from Gadakujang, Noliasahi, Polang, Bhuyanpala, Bayanalakanda and Nuagaon villages. Of the 2,000 acres acquired earlier, 1,703 acres have already been transferred to Posco-India. However, the company is yet to take physical possession of the land. The rest of the acquired land would now remain in the custody of the state-run Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco). It will eventually be handed over to the South Korean company.
Land acquisition was the biggest challenge before the company and the state government because of the resistance movement launched against the project under the banner of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity (PPSS), an organisation which received ample support from the Opposition parties.
Work at the site had to be stopped time and again during the past eight years following violence between supporters and opponents of the project that divided the entire area into two violent rival camps. Development activities in the area came to a halt because of recurrent violence that even prevented construction of roads.
Later, the government managed to convince majority of the people in the three gram panchayats of the area to desist from protests. “The land owners who had earlier sided with PPSS slowly came round to our point of view and handed over their betel vineyards,” said special land acquisition officer Sarat Kumar Purohit.
“Our focus now is to build a boundary wall to prevent encroachment of the acquired land. Ground-levelling work will also be taken up shortly,” Idco general manager Sangram Mahapatra told The Telegraph.
However, for the work to begin in right earnest, Posco and the state government have to cross a few more hurdles, the most important of them being the National Green Tribunal’s restriction on felling trees in the area. The matter will come up for hearing next on July 11.
While Posco can still not be sure of getting the Khandadhar iron ore mines, with the Centre yet to take a call on the issue, the company also awaits the renewal of its MoU with the state government that expired in 2010. The South Korean steel major also cannot underestimate the strength of PPSS which, though down at the moment, is capable of retaliating.
PPSS spokesperson Prasant Paikray lashed out at the government accusing it of acting as an agent of the South Korean company. “The government made a mockery of the concept of peaceful industrialisation by unleashing police force on unarmed people. They were forced to sign papers at gunpoint,” said Paikray.
