Orissa govt asks Posco to give up private land

In a major development pertaining to the Rs 51,000-crore greenfield project proposed by Posco in Jagatsinghpur district, the Orissa government today asked the South Korean company not to insist on 300 acres of private land in Dhinkia village.

This was decided at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik attended by local MP B P Tarai, agriculture minister Damodar Rout and three other MLAs of the district.

This decision was taken as the villagers of Dhinkia, the epicentre of the anti-Posco movement, are opposing the project tooth and nail.

Simultaneously, discussion will also be held with the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) at the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) level.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Rout said since the people of Dhinkia are opposed to the project, it was decided that Posco should not insist on the 300 acres of private land.

“It was unanimously decided that the Posco project will come up, as this is an important proposition for the state. However, all possible care would be taken to protect the interests of the displaced.”

The PPSS had proposed to have talks with the government if invited by the chief minister. As a measure in that direction, a meeting with the representatives of PPSS would be held soon. The meeting would be chaired by the RDC and if things remain unresolved, a meeting with the chief minister would be arranged. Other rehabilitation work would go on as usual, said Rout.

Chief secretary Tarunkanti Mishra, RDC P K Mohapatra and industry minister Raghunath Mohanty were also present in the meeting.