Stumps of trees that have been cut off at the site for the proposed Posco steel plant in Jagatsinghpur. Telegraph picture

Paradip, August 2: Civil construction and ancillary project related work for the proposed Posco steel project have suffered a setback because of the absence of suitable road connectivity to the construction sites and also its proposed resettlement colony.

With privately owned land coming in its way, ferrying machines, building materials to the site of boundary wall construction and ground-levelling of the proposed rehabilitation colony at Polang has become a cumbersome process.

The temporary road that connects the civil construction sites in Polang village is interspersed with privately-owned land. With private landowner protesting against the use of their land for road connectivity, civil work today failed to move an inch despite authorities’ concerted efforts.

“The stretch of road leading to the proposed rehabilitation colony in Jokerpada has a patch of 13 decimal of land owned by a villager. The private plot was being used by the officials for transportation of goods. However, the landowner has now expressed his unwillingness to allow use of the plot. The material supply to the spot was stopped for the day,” said Nrusingha Charan Swain, special land acquisition officer.

“We are trying to sort out the road dispute with a negotiated settlement with the landowner,” Swain added.

The proposed rehabilitation colony is being built to house would-be-displaced villagers. The area falls outside the territorial limits of the Posco project area.

The residential colony project requires at least 90 acres. But acquired land at the disposal of authorities is 70 acres. Besides, the plots are not compact and contiguous. Unless another 20 acres of the private land is acquired from the landowners, further progress of the rehabilitation colony will face difficulties, said officials.

Landowners of contiguous plots are cashing in on the authorities’ plight and are quoting exorbitant prices for their land.

“The rehabilitation colony is not within the project area. The government is not within its right to forcefully acquire land from the adjacent plot-owners. Posco will have to pay the sum,” said Nirvaya Samantaray, secretary, United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-Posco outfit.