A day after the Orissa government entered the Dhinkia gram panchayat area forcibly, literally through the back door to acquire land for the Posco steel plant project, Union minister for environment and forests sent a stinging reminder that forest clearance ?is no licence for forcible acquisition.?
The district officials of Jagatsinghpur demolished as many as 22 betel vines in Dhinkia gram panchyat, the area known as the stronghold of the anti-project outfit, the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti(PPSS), which has been using children as human shields to bar entry into the area.
The district revenue officials along with police entered Gobindpur village from the back (Dhinkia village side) while PPSS activists blocked the main entry point at Gobindpur-Nuagoan border. While a posse of policemen kept the demonstrators engaged at the entry point, the revenue officials demolished as many 22 betel vines on Saturday. However, compensation of Rs 2 lakh could be paid to only three farmers on the spot.
?On Saturday, 22 betel vines were demolished in Gobindpur village,? said the Paradip additional district magistrate, Saroj Kanta Choudhry. According to him, the land acuqisition work will be taken up after four days due to the local three-day Raja festival from Monday.
Though state government officials didn?t immediately react to Ramesh?s punishing remarks, it will give the Orissa government some breather. ?The Posco project was granted environmental and forest clearance after a great deal of thought and a careful balancing of various factors.However, I hope the state government will not use this as a licence for forcible acquisition of land.? Amid reports that the Orissa government was rushing more troops to the area, Ramesh said: ?I appeal to the Orissa government that land is acquired only through peaceful and law-governed means… I earnestly hope the state government will not take any precipitate action.?
As tension mounted in the area, Jagatsinghpur CPI MP, Bibhu Prasad Tarai, and former CPI MLA, Narayan Reddy, who was leading the resistance movement at Gopalpur against the Tata Steel project, reached Gobindpur village. The two leaders along with other leaders of four political parties ? CPM, Forward Bloc, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal ? addressed a rally on Saturday afternoon supporting the PPSS resistance movement.