Behrampur district, a few kilometres away from Gopalpur, has been chosen as the site for the institute. The company plans to induct local people from Behrampur into the institute after an extensive training programme at Jamshedpur, according to a Tisco spokesperson.
The training programme, which is scheduled to commence on Thursday, has so far signed up 160 locals who will be taken to Jamshedpur and housed there during the training period. Apart from the polytechnic institute, the district will also accommodate the rehabilitation plans of the company in the two villages of Lohaghiri and Sitalapalli.
The total area that the company plans to acquire in the region is 500 acres, of which it has already acquired about 300 acres.
The rehabilitation plans for the displaced villagers include a compensation of about Rs 1 lakh per acre, which the company has already started paying, the spokesperson said.
The plant, which will be an all-flat product unit and which has a technical consultancy tie-up with the Japanese major Nippon Steel, is expected to displace about seven villages. The project has been facing stiff opposition from local Communist Part of India activists as well as various environment groups.
The induction of locals into the polytechnic institute could well be viewed as Tisco's effort at consolidating its position in the area.
What strengthens the consolidation theory is the effort to bring down the number of displaced villages from seven to five.
Tisco has also defended its stand by stating that the plant would use the latest technology to ensure that all effluents are environment-friendly.
It has also refuted the claims of the CPI, which has charged that the plant would destroy nearly 10 lakh coconut trees.
According to the spokesperson, the project is expected to generate nearly 10 million tonnes of steel on full completion and could open up immense employment prospects in the region.
