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| ArcelorMittal faces resistance for Gram Sabha in Kodakhamana |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar May 26, 2009, 00:43 IST |
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Aggravating the problem for ArcelorMittal to acquire land for its proposed 12 million tonne integrated steel plant at Patana tehsil in Keonjhar district, the Gram Sabha convened in Kodakhamana village for holding consultation with the local villagers was disrupted today by the activists of the Mittal Pratirodh Manch (MPM), a body spearheading the movement against land acquisition by the company
The MPM activists blocked the road leading to the village by putting stones and felling tress on it. This prevented the officials of the district administration and the company to reach the village to conduct the Gram Sabha.
However, the district administration officials cited heavy downpour as the reason for postponement of Gram Sabha in Kodakhamana village. “About 200 land losers of Kodakhamana village, which has a population of around 700, were supposed to participate in the Gram Sabha meet. But it had to be postponed due to the rains. The meeting at Kodakhamana village is expected to be held next week”, said Saswat Mishra, the Keonjhar district collector.
Meanwhile, another Gram Sabha meet for the project at Dharuapada village under the Patana tehsil went off smoothly and evoked good response. About 150 land losers participated in this meet which was held in the presence of the company officials.
The move of the company to hold Gram Sabha assumes importance as the new government led by Naveen Patnaik, which had signed the MoU with the company for setting up of the project, has returned to power with a massive mandate recently.
Sources said, though the company has started the process of land acquisition for its Rs 40,000 crore greenfield steel plant in Keonjhar district, it is yet to submit the detailed project report (DPR) to the Orissa government. The top management of the company has already indicated that the project is likely to be delayed by at least 2 years with the schedule of completion pushed to 2014 instead of 2012 earlier.
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