File picture of police personnel during land acquisition for Posco project in Jagatsinghpur

Paradip, June 1: District authorities have decided to serve notices under the Orissa Prevention and Land Encroachment (OPLE) Act, 1972, to the landowners, who are reluctant to part with their land for the proposed Posco steel project.

In that event, if reluctant landowners refuse to budge within the stipulated timeframe of the notice period, they would be forcefully evicted.

“Everything that has been done so far with regard to land acquisition was with consent and written approval of the landowners. Now, we will be forced to take possession of the land of dissenting betel vine growers within the parameters of law,” said Saroj Kanta Choudhury, additional district magistrate, Paradip.

A total of 268 betel vineyards have so far been demolished and the government has acquired nearly 36 acres of forestland. Almost two-third of the betel vines in Gadakujang and Nuagaon gram panchayat have been acquired. Still about 150 betel vineyards, in the encroached forestland at villages such as, Polang, Bayanalakanda and Nuagaon, are to be reclaimed due to resistance by farmers.

“We will try to convince them to cooperate with the land drive. If they continue to remain adamant, the authorities would have to take recourse to law for acquisition of the betel plots on the encroached forestland,” said Nrusingha Charan Swain, special land acquisition officer for the project.

“The district administration strongly favours peaceful land acquisition. We would try our level best to prevail upon people to give up the encroached forestland. We are armed with the enforcement provisions and the apex court directions calling for eviction of squatters from the government land,” said Choudhury.

Notices under Sections 4, 6 and 7 would be served shortly, giving betel vine growers a deadline to part with occupied forestland, said officials.

“The Orissa government is now showing its anti-people face. Instead of being pro-people, the government agencies here are performing the role of a corporate agent. The chief minister, during a meet last year, had said there would be no forcible acquisition of land in the Posco project area. But, it is now apparent that the government intends to acquire land from unwilling betel growers by force. There would be stiff resistance and rerun of Kalinganagar bloodshed where innocent tribal settlers were gunned down to acquire land for another steel project,” said Sisir Kumar Mahapatra, secretary of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samity, the outfit locked up in a five-year-long resistance movement against the Korean steelmaker.

The betel vineyard owners, who gave away their land in recent days, are sceptical of the government’s commitment regarding the hike and revision in relief and livelihood support to landlosers and the would-be-displaced people.

Some farmers, who have already parted with their land, too, are worried. “We are not confident that our legitimate demands would be met with as assured during the course of the May 30 meet with the revenue divisional commissioner. The officials have not given any written undertaking that grievances would be redressed. No specific date has been fixed by the resettlement and peripheral development advisory committee for finalisation of compensation package,” said Rabindra Behera, a landloser.

The betel vineyards had come up on encroached forestland with the landowners having no legal titles over the land. The clearance, given by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to the project, meant that the farmers were not entitled to rights under the Forest Rights Act.