Buckling under pressure from anti-Posco groups, the Orissa government on Thursday decided to reduce the size of Posco?s proposed steel plant site in Jagatsinghpur district by about 300 acres.
?Posco will be asked not to insist for the 300 acre of private land that falls in the mauza of Dhinkia, the gram panchayat that is throwing up the maximum resistance to the location of the project,? said chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
Posco needs 4004 acre for the 12-mt plant, expected to cost around Rs 50,000 crore. Of that, 437 acre is private land and 3,566 acre are owned by the government. Of the government land, forest land comprises about 2900 acre.
Patnaik, who on Thursday chaired a meeting of the MP and MLAs of Jagatsinghpur district on the Posco project, said it unanimously decided to have the plant in the interest of the people of Orissa. He said the MP from Jagatsinghpur, Bibhu Prasad Tarai, has been asked to negotiate with anti-Posco groups for a peaceful settlement of the issue.
When contacted, Vikash Sharan, general manager (corporate affairs) at Posco, said he was not aware of the developments.
The Thursday meeting, which was convened in the wake of the police action against anti-Posco groups at Balitutha on May 15, was attended by state agriculture minister and Paradip MLA, Dr Damodar Rout, Balikuda-Ersama MLA Prasanta Muduli, Tirtol MLA Rabindra Bhoi, Jagatsinghpur MLA, Bishnu Das, Jagatsingpur MP Tarai, state industries minister Raghunath Mohanty and revenue divisional commissioner Pradipta Kumar Mohpatra.
The RDC said it has been decided that the Jagatsinghpur MP would lead a delegation of the anti-Posco group for a discussion with him and the district collector. And, if necessary, he would arrange a meeting of the anti-Posco group delegates with the chief minister for final settlement of the issue.
He said while discussions with the anti-Posco group would continue, the company would be allowed to go ahead with the project. The district collector, who is now negotiating with the villagers to finalize a rehabilitation and resettlement package, would continue to do so.
Mohapatra said Thursday?s decision to exclude the 300 acres private land in the Dhinkia Mauja would have a salutary effect on the anti-Posco movement.