BHUBANESWAR: The People’s Commission in its interim report to the Odisha government observed that the clearance for JSW Utkal Steel Limited (JUSL) in Jagatsinghpur district was obtained without determining the forest rights of residents.
The commission, a body of social activists led by retired Supreme Court justice Madan B Lokur, also underlined police repression and criminalisation of protests in the Dhinkia region of the coastal district. After a two-day hearing of the affected local people, the panel submitted the interim report with its observations and recommendations to the state government.
Residents of Dhinkia panchayat are not in favour of the project because of its negative effects on their livelihood and environment. Resistance, however, led to state repression and arrests, which still continues, the report stated. Not only have the forest rights of the people not been determined, the commission observed, but the residents have been forcibly evicted from the lands on which they have forest rights and where they were cultivating betel vines and other crops, thereby snatching away their only source of livelihood.
Instead of assisting them to get their forest rights and providing welfare measures, repressive actions have been resorted to. Women and men were picked up from their homes at night or early morning, beaten by the police and company goons and arrested. People have multiple criminal cases filed against them and as soon as they are out in one case, they are picked up in another. Around 100 cases have been registered from 2019 to 2023, the report said.
According to the commission, the fear of police arrests and torture has forced people to leave their homes and hide in the forests for months. Highlighting several environmental concerns, it said, Paradip is a highly polluted industrial area and the project site is located in its vicinity. It is necessary to have a cumulative impact assessment of the water-intensive project as it may adversely affect the groundwater levels in the region.
The commission has demanded that all criminal cases allegedly imposed on the villagers should be withdrawn and coercive processes should cease. It recommended the government protect the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen and the right to life with dignity.
After the exit of POSCO, the state government transferred the land to JUSL, which plans to set up a 13.2 million tonne per annum (MTPA) integrated steel plant, a captive power plant of 900 MW and a cement grinding and mixing unit of 10 MTPA.