Rising protests halt land acquisition for Posco

With escalating protests at the site of Posco’s mega steel project in Jagatsinghpur district from, for differing reasons, both those who support and are opposing it, the administration today announced temporary suspension of land acquisition in anti-Posco areas.

They did so to head off more escalation of tension, with leaders of different political hues and social activists coming in rising numbers to the area to express solidarity with the people who are agitating.

Said additional district magistrate Saroj Kanta Choudhury, “We are monitoring the situation and the door is open for discussion. We have stopped the land acquisition process for a temporary period, after getting a directive from higher authorities.”

The district administration tried to underline that this was a temporary period of tension, by also saying it had begun demarcating the boundary for the 12-million tonne project, the memorandum of understanding for which (Between the Korean giant and the state government) completes six years tomorrow. The process, it said, was started today at the Polang area under Gadakujang panchayat, with officials of the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco).

PRO GROUP ALSO ANGRY
However, the other rising threat is from hitherto pro-Posco villagers, whose support is crucial for all project-related work, and who had lent support for acquiring 1,800 acres at the Gadakujang and Nuagaon panchayats. They are extremely dissatisfied at the extent and pace of compesnation beign offered and have warned of massive protests if there’s more dleay in the government’s response to their six-point charter of demands.

Said Nirvay Samantray, secrerary of the United Action Council (UAC), the pro-Poso front: “We will seek the support of villagers to intensify our stir and stop project-related work till our demands are fulfilled.” Last Sunday, UAC activists had thwarted the attempt to start the boundary demarcation and sand levelling work. Samantray charged today that force had been used to begin the work.

The divisional commissioner, central range, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, had called a meeting with UAC activists yesterday, in the presence of district collector N C Jena; the DIG, central range, D S Kuttey; district police head S Debdatta Singh and Idco officials. It ended with a walkout by the UAC.

In this backdrop, the administration today started land demarcation with armed police standing by. The Kujang tehsildar, Basudev Pradhan, said boundary demarcation and construction proceeded smoothly at Polang, while sand levelling and tree cutting was going on likewise at Nuagaon and Gadkujang.

POLITICAL SUPPORT
However, political and other parties are also stepping in. Four Members of Parliament, of the CPI and CPI(M), and leaders of five political parties, today visited trouble-torn Gobindpur village, an anti-Posco stronghold in Dhinkia panchayat. They joined a sit-in with locals, including women and children, under the banner of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti. The PPSS has formed a human barricade, women and children at the forefront, to block entry of officials and police. This stiff resistance, visits by political leaders and social activists like Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar, has forced a halt to land acquisition at Gobindpur for the past 10 days.

PPSS has decided to observe the sixth anniversary tomorrow of the project agreement as a ‘Black Day’ at Dhinkia panchayat tomorrow. Among those expected to participate are Pratap Mishra, retired judge of the Orissa high court, and Kolse Patil, retired judge of the Bombay HC.

Meanwhile, the administration has initiated steps for identification of labourers on the betel vines grown in the area, the primary cash crop, and a survey of beneficiaries in Nuagaon and Gadkujang who had demolished their vines in 2008, but not got any compensation for that. The identification of vine labourers is to be followed by a maintenance allowance of Rs 2,250 per month to each and compensation equivalent to a certain percentage of the amount being paid to the vine owners. UAC demands the compensation to labourers be raised to 20 percent of the amount being paid to the owners.

The administration had demolished nearly 650 betel vines and paid Rs 7.50 crore compensation to the vine owners this year. It had demolished 96 vines and paid Rs 1.36 crore last year, but not a single labourer has got any maintenance allowance and other benefits.