Villagers protest against land acquisition at the proposed Posco project area. (file picture)

Cuttack, Oct. 11: Orissa government is in a quandary over acquisition of private land in five villages for the proposed Posco plant owing to alleged procedural glitches and consequent restrictions imposed by the high court.

The state revenue department had issued a notification on January 4, 2006, with a land schedule to acquire 433.24 acres in Dhinkia, Govindpur, Bhuyanpal, Polang and Nuagaon villages for the project. But ground realities remained unchanged on account of non-implementation of the notification.

When the government announced to act in pursuant to the notification even after five years, the high court observed that the “land acquisition proceedings are bad in law” and directed for maintaining status quo in respect of the private lands scheduled for acquisition in the five villages.

The court issued the interim order on September 9 in response to a petition challenging the notification and seeking judicial intervention. The order said the restrictions would continue till disposal of the case. Six villagers of Govindpur-Dhinkia-Nuagaon in the Posco project area had filed the petition.

With the high court issuing the status quo order the dispute now centres round the contention of the petitioners that the revenue department’s notification intending to acquire the lands had waived sections of the Land Acquisition Act when such waiver is not permissible on account of land for a private company.

“It denied the land owners concerned and other interested parties from raising objections. The device has been so arranged to illegally evade the mandatory provisions of the Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules and to further cause acquisition for a private company in the garb of public purpose and at the expense of state exchequer,” the petitioners contend.

The dispute raised in the high court further hinges on the contention that the state government had issued the notification under the Land Acquisition Act for undertaking acquisition for a “public purpose” and at “government expense” through the Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco). But, Idco is not competent to acquire private land for any specific non-government or private company.

The high court, however, had endorsed diversion of forestland for the Posco steel plant by ruling that the “state government has every power to acquire such land”.

The court approved that the forestland was agreed to be transferred through Idco for the steel plant “which will provide employment and will augment revenue for both central and state governments and serve public interest”. The court refused to pass any interim order on another petition challenging the forest clearance granted by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) for the Posco project.