Cuttack, July 28: As Orissa High Court is set to start hearing tomorrow on the legality of the land acquisition proceedings for the proposed Posco steel plant, the dispute has now narrowed down to the question as to whether it had been undertaken for a public purpose or for a private company.

Nishakar Khatua and five other villagers from the Posco project area had sought quashing of the land acquisition proceedings alleging that the state government had issued notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act for undertaking acquisition for “public purpose” and at “government expense” when the entire acquisition of land is apparently for a private limited company.

The Orissa government had countered in an affidavit that the land acquisition process undertaken for the 12-million-tonne Posco steel plant is “for a public purpose and not for a private company”. “At every stage, the requirement of public purpose has been the sole objective of the project and the consequent land acquisition,” the affidavit had claimed in response to notices issued on the petition.

“If the generation of additional employment of 8,70,000 persons for 30 years and contribution of 11.5 per cent to the state domestic product (SDP) apart from huge revenue for the state and the Centre do not serve public purpose or interest, one would be at loss to understand what constitutes public purpose or interest,” revenue and disaster management department additional secretary Syed Nayar Ahmed had stated in his affidavit.

The petitioners had contended that “Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (Idco) is not competent to acquire land exclusively for any particular company.

The state government, however, claimed that “the land has been acquired for Idco for public purpose for establishment of industries under the Industrial Infrastructural Development Act, 1980, the Industries (Facilitation) Act, 2004, and the

Posco India Private Limited’s managing director Gee Woong Sung had in an affidavit stated: “The project is a developmental work of great magnitude beneficial for the state, its people and the country on the whole. Stalling or discontinuing the project’s work by virtue of any interim order would seriously prejudice the cause which is for a public purpose and the company will suffer irreparable loss and injury.”