Land acquisition work for the proposed Posco plant on at Nuagaon (file picture)

Paradip, Aug. 9: Dearth of officials has made it difficult to carry out land acquisition activities and routine administrative work for the proposed Posco steel plant. The recent transfer of two officers engaged in the land acquisition process has also aggravated the problem.

In another development, the government has transferred the revenue divisional commission (central division), Paradip additional district magistrate and the Ersama block development officer.

Calling the transfers “ill-timed”, Dhirendra Pallei, working president of the United Action Committee, a pro-plant outfit, said: “Transfer of the officials at a time when the project has reached a crucial stage defies logic.”

Pallei said the six-point demands of the landlosers for revised compensation and rehabilitation package had been pending. These were to be settled by the rehabilitation and peripheral development advisory committee, headed by the revenue divisional commissioner (central). The settlement of these demands would be delayed, as the revenue divisional commissioner had been transferred.

Additional district magistrate Saroj Kanta Choudhury, who had been directly associated with the land acquisition process and project work, was also being transferred, he said.

Routine administrative work in government offices has taken a backseat in Jagatsinghpur district. Important public utility offices such as, tehsil, block and police stations across the district, have been struck by a scarcity of officers occupied with the land drive.

“Awarding of compensation to the landlosers affected by the Essar steel plant near Paradip has been delayed thanks to the engagement of officials in the Posco work,” said Pravat Samantaray, a trade union leader.

Former legislator Umesh Chandra Swain said: “Starting from the district collector, almost everyone is busy with Posco work. The common man’s needs have gone for a toss. I have been told that the disbursal of monthly social security pension to poor people has been hit.Students seeking admission and aspiring job seekers are yet to get residential certificates as the tehsildars are busy elsewhere.”

Jagatsinghpur zilla parishad president Natabar Barik said official work had been severely hit in almost all block and tehsil offices. “Government offices in places such as, Erasama, Kujang, Tirtol, Balikuda and Biridi blocks, are the worst hit,” he said.

The implementation of various poverty alleviation and welfare projects has also been delayed. “Work only seems to get done when people start protesting,” Barik said.

“We had to run to the Kujang tehsil office several times to get a proof of residence certificate, as it was a mandatory document for a job application. We could not find the tehsildar for one week. We were told that he was busy with the Posco project. After about 10 days, the tehsildar tuned up to issued us the certificate,” said Harihar Mahapatra, an unemployed youth from Kujang.

Police stations in Paradip, Paradip-lock, Kujang, Erasama, Biridi also wear a deserted look on the days when land acquisition activities are on. There is hardly anyone in the police stations to register a first information report.

“The police are shouldering the additional burden of maintaining law and order in and around the steel project area. Instructions have been issued to all the police stations to look after pubic grievances and complaints,” said sub-divisional police officer Shantanu Kumar Das.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Kujang tehsildar Vasudev Pradhan said: “We are simply doing official duty that has been assigned to us. Apart from supervising the Posco work, we are also attending to office work whenever we have time.”