Tree-felling exercise on in Nuagaon forest areas under the proposed Posco project area. Telegraph picture

Paradip, July 23: The Jagatsinghpur district administration today initiated the process for acquisition of private land for the Posco steel project. Yesterday, the administration had reached at a negotiated settlement with the protesters.

Acquisition of private land assumes significance as the mega steel project grounded amid periodic protest from those opposing and supporting the plant. The project territory accounts for 437.68 acres of private land while a major chunk of it comes under classified forestland. “Little over one acre of private land was acquired today at Polang village with the consent of three plot owners against a payment of Rs 18 lakh. With the progress of ancillary work, we have planned to acquire more private land at Gadakujang and Nuagaon gram panchayats to hand over to the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation for the project,” said special land acquisition officer Nrusingha Charan Swain.

The exercise is being carried out in conformity with provisions of the Orissa Land Acquisition Act. Periodic notices had been issued to the private landowners before acquiring their plots for the steel project, said Swain.

The pace of work was brisk today. Authorities carried out the exercise of tree-felling and conducted measurement of the prawn gheries within the project areas for compensation payment.

Accompanied by a heavy contingent of armed police, the officers had a hectic schedule with the tree-felling exercise making fast progress under the demarcated areas of proposed Posco steel project.

After the civil works and forest clearance operation had come to a grinding halt on July 15 following resistance by various outfits and people, the project work made considerable progress today with the cooperation of the villagers.“A record number of 4,000 forest category trees were pulled down today. Moreover, about 40 acre-stretch of prawn gheries were measured. Side by side the civil constructions such as, boundary wall on the demarcated project border, resettlement colony in Jokerpada near Polang and road-laying, made good progress,” said additional district magistrate Saroja Kanta Choudhury.

Moreover, the works like levelling of the dismantled betel vineyards and sand-filling in low-lying areas were undertaken today, he said.

“The felled logs and timber were all handed over to the local village forest committees at Nuagaon and Gadakujang gram panchayats. The committees were entitled for taking possession of 50 per cent of the logs. The rest was to be put up for public auction. However, we relaxed the rules for larger public interest,” said Choudhury.

On the other hand, routine protest continued today in parts of Nuagaon and Dhinkia gram panchayats. While the Bhitamati Surakhya Manch, demanding relocation of the project, sat on a dharna at Nuagaon, the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity put in place the human barricade at the Nuagaon-Dhinkia border.

Tarun Mandal, SUCI MP from Bengal and representatives of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties, Bangalore visited the project villages to extend solidarity with ongoing resistance movement against the steel project.