PARADIP: Eight months after Posco pulled out its 12-million-tonne-capacity steel project from Jagatsinghpur district, the district administration has stepped up efforts for construction of boundary wall surrounding 2,700 acres that was acquired for the proposed plant.
In a bid to clear hurdles, the district administration had recently started interacting with the residents of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang panchayats to seek their cooperation for building the wall.
The Posco had surrendered the land acquired for the project after facing public resistance and several regulatory hurdles for 12 years. The State Government had kept the acquired 2,700 acres in its land bank since Posco’s exit in March.
Though Idco had started constructing the boundary wall in May, the work remained suspended due to the frequent agitation by locals. The boundary wall is likely to be built around 18 km, covering adjacent villages of Nuagaon, Gobindapur, Polanga, Gadakujang and Baynalkanda at an estimated cost of `13 crore.
The district administration will conduct a meeting on Wednesday to urge the villagers of Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Trilochanpur villagers to support the construction work. The anti-displacement leaders, including Sisir Mohapatra, who had protested against the Posco project, have been called for the meeting, sources said.
“However, anti-Posco activists have demanded that the State should withdraw the fake cases against the villagers related to Posco violence. They have expressed their dissatisfaction to the administration for not providing any alternative livelihood for at least 5,000 betel vine workers, who lost jobs after their vines were removed in Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadakujang panchayats,” sources added.
“Our village Dhinkia was skipped from the Posco project. But, the administration has requested the villagers to attend this scheduled meeting. We are not opposing the construction of the wall. But, we have been demanding fulfilment of our genuine demands,” village chief of Dhinkia, Nirvaya Samantray, who was once identified as a pro-Posco activist, said.
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that land acquired for Posco could now be allotted to JSW Steel for the setting up its proposed 10 million tonne steel project at a cost of `50,000 crore. However, there has been no official announcement made in this regard so far.
Requesting anonymity, a senior revenue officer revealed that the district administration has apparently received a verbal intimation from the government to expedite the construction of boundary wall to facilitate the JSW project. Sources said former Collector Satya Kumar Mallick, who played a key role in acquiring land for Posco, has been appointed as the liaison officer to expedite the project work.
Mallick had interacted with district Collector Yamini Sarangi last week in connection with the progress of steel project.
The State-level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) had recommended two project proposals of JSW Group, including the steel project, to the High-level Clearance Authority (HLCA).
Gobindpur villagers call for meet against wall
Paradip: Ahead of the meeting between district administration and villagers on the construction of boundary wall, residents of Gobindpur under Dhinkia Panchyat have sought the intervention of Sarpanch to conduct a special Pallisabha and Gramsabha for protesting against the intiative. The villagers have alleged that the State government had forcibly acquired their lands for construction of the boundary wall by IDCO. Sources revealed that the residents of Dhinkia and Trilochanpur were surprised as to why the district administration had called them for the meeting as POSCO project had apparently skipped their villages. “District administration has demolished our betel vines at Gobindpur without taking the consent of the betel vine owners. Similarly, the administration had also set up a police camp at Mangalpada in Gobindpur and deployed 15 platoons of police forces thereby to generate fear among the villagers. This amounts to violation of human rights,” claimed villagers.