Forest classified trees felled at Noliasahi in the Posco project area on Wednesday. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Aug. 24: Authorities today managed to resume forest clearance exercise in a limited scale in the proposed Posco project area even as fresh talk to reach a negotiated settlement with people opposing work turned out to be a futile exercise.

After over a fortnight-long stalemate, noise of crashing trees rent the air in Noilasahi forest areas as about 500 plantswere pulled down amid heavy deployment of armed police. Officials heaved a sigh of relief after partially succeeding to resume the project-related work. However, hurdles are far from over with major areas coming under the mega steel venture still stuck in the web of stiff resistance.

There was no let-up in protest with people continuing their dharna in villages such as Nuagaon and Gadakujang within the project area and at the oil refinery site on its outskirts.

Still, officials prevailed upon sections of villagers in Noliasahi managing to resume the tree-felling exercise.

“With people’s active cooperation, the exercise began today in Noliasahi. About 500 trees were felled under the supervision of personnel of the state-run Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco),” said Kujang tehsildar Vasudev Pradhan.

“The administration today had fruitful talks with various groups of people at different spots. We are hopeful that project work would move in a positive direction in the coming days,” said special land acquisition officer Nrusingha Charan Swain.

Jagatsinghpur collector Narayan Chandra Jena said: “The administration is intent on peaceful acquisition of land. In recent past, protesters have indulged in acts of provocation putting Posco and other government officials under detention. But we have refrained from using force despite provocation. We are on the job to evict the encroachers. As the people have unlawfully occupied forestland, the area is being made encroachment-free within the legal framework and rules.”

In another development, United Action Committee, the outfit which had recently turned anti-administration over non-revision of compensation package, today said the administration was adopting divide and rule policy for which people were slowly getting alienated from the project.

“It amounts to cowardice act on part of the administration to gain backdoor entry into the project area. The people ought to be taken into confidence as a big project of this nature is going to cause loss of livelihood of one and all in the project villages,” said committee’s general secretary Nirvaya Samantaray.