Administration concedes demands of pro-Posco group

The talks between the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), central range and the activists of United Action Committee (UAC), a pro Posco outfit, today ended on a positive note with the former conceding to all the important demands of UAC.

The UAC members had opposed the ongoing land acquisition for the Posco steel project near Paradip in Orissa demanding fulfillment of their six point charter of demands, mostly relating to higher compensation to project affected persons and jobs to locals.

After today’s meeting, RDC, Pradipta Mohapatra said, “out of six demands put forth by UAC, four demands had already been resolved by the district collector. So I have given assurance to fulfill the rest two demands after discussion with the state government. These demands are calculating the compensation for betel vines by measuring them from “stay to stay’ instead of current system of “fence to fence” and hiking the compensation for betel vine workers from 20 to 30 percent of the amount of compensation being paid to the vine owners”.

The other four demands mentioned in the UAC list are one job to each of the 3000 project affected family of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayats, increasing the price of agricultural and homestead land, giving contract work to the local contractors during the construction phase and paying compensation to the beneficiaries who had demolished their betel vines after the 2008 survey.

Sources said, the 2008 survey report had mentioned about the existence of 1961 betel vines covering an area of 394.39 acres in the project site. Subsequently many farmers of Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchyat had demolished their betel vines after being coaxed by the Posco officials. The company had paid them a compensation of Rs 6,000 per decimal at that time. These betel vines are not included in the asset list of the survey this year.

Mohapatra said, a recruitment committee has been formed with the district collector as its member to provide employment opportunities to the project affected persons. He informed that UAC has given assurance to co-operate in the land acquisition process for the mega steel project.