PARADIP: Nearly 600 betel vine labourers in Gadakujang panchayat are still awaiting compensation promised by JSW Steel, casting a shadow over the land acquisition for the proposed project.
The issue came up once again during a public hearing on Wednesday, where land labourers and losers vehemently opposed the project, vowing not to relinquish even an inch of land.
The public hearing was convened as a requisite step to obtain the consent of affected families.
Out of the 249 affected families, only a small fraction, comprising 10 to 12 families, attended the meeting.
They demanded immediate compensation of `88,000 for each betel vine labourer who holds a ration card in Gadkujang panchayat, as well as employment opportunities for each affected family. Additionally, they called for ` 2 to 4 crore per acre as compensation for the land, among other benefits. “Without these, we will not part with our land for the project,” said land losers Jadunath Khatua, Sanjay Moharana, Dhirendra Moharana, Subash Behera and others.
Sarpanch of Gadakujang Kabita Das acknowledged the validity of the demands made by the land losers. She explained, “Frequent problems by POSCO and JSW have created obstacles for land acquisition in Gadakujang, causing most land losers to boycott this meeting.”Present at the meeting were additional district magistrate Paradip Niranjan Behera, ADM Jagatsinghpur Chinmayee Biswal, land officer IDCO Swati Mishra and other officials.