The Hindu Business Line : POSCO-India officials begin meeting people directly for land acquisition

Bhubaneswar April 27 Acting upon the suggestions of the Orissa Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, to hold direct talks with the people for acquiring land for its proposed mega steel project, POSCO-India officials have started meeting the people in the area earmarked for the proposed steel mill.

The new initiative has come a few days after the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Orissa Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, discussed in New Delhi the hurdles facing the 12-million tonne capacity steel project in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister asked the Chief Minister to facilitate land acquisition for the steel project. Mr Patnaik requested the Centre for processing his Government's recommendation for grant of prospecting licence for the Khandadhar iron ore mines to the Korean company.

The New Delhi meeting was followed by a meeting between Mr Patnaik and top officials of POSCO-India here when the Chief Minister suggested that the company start negotiations with the people for acquiring land. Top company officials clarified that they were seriously pursuing the project and there was no question of shifting the project site.

A team of company officials visited several villages in the area earmarked for the steel mill on Thursday and held direct discussions with the farmers and betel vine cultivators to convince them about the benefits of the venture.

The officials also discussed with the villagers the provisions promised in the new resettlement and rehabilitation policy of the State Government. "The visit of our officials was received well by the villagers," a company official said on Friday.

"People were happy because the company officials had reached their doorsteps to apprise them about the compensation packages and address their apprehensions."

Although the company has started reaching out to the families facing displacement, the officials feel that acquisition of the 438 acres of private land will not solve the entire land acquisition issue. The administration, they feel, should initiate measures to convince the people to vacate the Government land that had been promised for the steel project.

Of the total 4,004 acres required by the company, 3,566 acres was government land. Of this, the government has already completed the paper work for handing over 1,135 acres to the company.

But the process for handing over the remaining portion has not been completed so far.

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