Without waiting for the allotment of 2,700 acre required for its mega steel plant near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district, Posco-India today began building a boundary wall on the demarcated line for 1,703 acre handed over by the Odisha government.
"We have handed over the boundary wall construction to a contractor who started work with the consent of the local people at Nuagaon village," a field official of Posco-India claimed.
Stating that there was no protest from villagers, he said that the work started without police or district officials being present.
The building of the boundary wall began about five months after the state government completed land acquisition of 2,700 acre for setting up the 8 mtpa steel mill in the first phase.
The company requires 4004 acre to set up the 12 mtpa steel plant at an investment of Rs 51,000 crore.
The move came a day after the state's Steel and Mines minister Rajnikant Singh said that the government could not hand over the additional 1,000 acre to the company unless the National Green Tribunal gave its nod.
A Posco-India official said that the construction of boundary wall would prevent encroachment.
