Lukewarm response to Posco's compensation offer

The efforts of the district administration and Posco India to expedite land acquisition for the company's Rs 54,000-crore steel project to be set up near Paradeep has turned out to be a dampener.

Only 21 out of the 2200 odd families engaged in betel vines cultivation have applied for compensation by February 10, the deadline set by the district administration of Jagatsinghpur.

“Out of 2200 families, only 21 families have applied for compensation and steps are being taken to convince the remaining families to apply for the compensation”, said Nrusingh Swain, special land acquisition officer, Paradeep.

The lacklustre response is attributed to the lack of coordination among the district administration, Posco officials and the land losers, announcement of lesser compensation compared to 2007 and finalization of the compensation package for the betel vine farmers by the district administration without consulting the members of the United Action Committee (UAC), considered to be a pro-Posco outfit.

UAC members including sarpanch of Gadkujang, Nakula Sahoo and panchayat samiti member, Saumendra Nayak said the rising demand for betel leaves and the non-fulfillment of their 29-point charter of demands have led to the poor response to the compensation package.

Posco India has decided to offer a compensation of Rs 7000 per decimal of land for loss of betel vines, Rs one lakh per acre of prawn gheries and Rs 75,000 per acre of cultivable land.

The UAC members had demanded a compensation of Rs 15000 per decimal of land for betel vines and Rs five lakh per acre of prawn gheries.

Moreover, with resistance to the Posco project by the anti-Posco activists continuing unabated and betel farming being a lucrative profession in Kujang and Erasama blocks of Jagatsinghpur district, very few locals applied for the compensation.

The overall business of the betel leaves in this region is close to Rs 10 crore per annum. It may be noted that a unique variety of betel is raised in Kujang and the demand for this betel leaf is on the rise in south Orissa and in other states like Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Sources said more than 2200 betel vine farmers were identified in Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayats during the socio-economic survey conducted by the district administration for the Posco steel plant in 2007. As the people of Nuagaon backed the Posco project, hundreds of these betel vines were destroyed during the course of this survey. At that time, 75 out of the 700-odd families of Nuagaon are stated to have received a compensation of Rs 10000 per decimal of land against loss of betel vines.

The disbursement of compensation was stopped by the district administration as Posco paid a compensation of Rs 10000 per decimal of land as against Rs 6000 per decimal stated in the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy of the Orissa government

“We have been raising cash crops like betel vines and cashew for so many years. There is no point in applying for the compensation which has been fixed at Rs 7000 per decimal of land, less than the compensation of Rs 10000 per decimal paid by the company in 2007”, says Arjun Swain, a betel vine farmer of Nuagaon.

The other betel vine farmers said they are earning Rs 30000-40000 per month and are not willing to give their land for the project at throwaway prices.