File picture of children studying as they take part in a protest against the Posco steel project at Gobindpur village in Jagatsinghpur.

Paradip, April 25: The Odisha government has decided to keep the trouble-prone Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Patana villages out of the big-ticket Posco steel project area in Jagatsinghpur district.

The steel-makers had earlier announced to exclude Dhinkia from the project boundary. Now, Gobindpur and Patana villages, which boast of luxuriant betel vineyards, would also be excluded from the project.

Unable to cope with the stiff resistance from landowners in various parts of the proposed steel project corridors, the Odisha government had retreated from carrying forward the project related works since the past five months.

The gram panchayat, widely regarded as the nerve centre of resistance movement against the South Korean steel-maker, has till date remained out of bounds for officials of both the government and the steel company.

The betel vines are still intact in villages such as Gobindpur, Patana and Dhinkia in the face of the people’s movement, spearheaded by the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity against the mega steel venture.

Relegating the land acquisition exercise to the background, the Odisha government, redirecting its strategy, is intent on expediting the project work stalled since 16 December violence at Bose Callis’ point on the outskirts of the project site. The project, for all practical purpose, has failed to move since then.

“In a recently held high-level meet at Bhubaneswar, it has been decided to resume the project work in the 2,000-acre land already acquired for the project. The resumption of the work would begin with the consensus and co-operation of people living in the project area. There would be no more land acquisition in the earmarked villages for the project. The administration is intent on commencing the work winning the people’s confidence,” said special land acquisition officer Nrusingha Chanran Swain.

The project requires 4,004 acres for steel plant while 2,958 acres are forestland, 438 acres private land and the rest are government land.

In a strategic move to tone down the resistance movement, the Dhinkia gram panchayat would now be kept out of the project boundary. The steel-maker has already made it clear that the project would come up without the troubled Dhinkia patch.

Around 300 acres at Gobindpur village would be put away from the project area, said sources. The Dhinkia gram panchayat, including Gobindpur village, accounts for about 1,200 acres. That includes private category, forest classified and revenue land encroached upon by local people for betel vines cultivation.

General manager of the Industrial Development Infrastructure Corporation Sangram Mahapatra said: “Our emphasis is on expediting the project at the available and acquired patch of land. The district administration, the corporation and the steel company would act in cohesion to convince the people to extend co-operation towards the project work.”

“The objective of district administration is to begin the project in conducive environment. People’s co-operation would be sought. The administration has made its door open for everybody for amicable settlement of the people’s demands regarding the rehabilitation and compensation package,” said additional district magistrate Surajeet Das.