Posco-India?s steel project in Orissa is unlikely to take off before the forthcoming general elections. Considering the problems the project is mired in, it will take at least five to six months to zero in on its date of commencement. The Orissa government?s officials monitoring the project are also skeptical about the project being started before the elections.
More than land acquisition, the problem of forest land diversion and the mine linkage will delay the project.
?Land acquisition is not the sole problem for the proposed greenfield steel project. The lack of raw material linkage and forest diversion clearance is the cause of the delay,? the state steel & mines principal secretary, Ashok Dalwai, reportedly told the Prime Minister?s Office (PMO). The PMO had invited the state officials last week to review the progress made by the mega steel projects in Orissa.
The mines proposal is likely to be finalised by the end of August. The South Korean company can proceed with the construction work once the forest clearance from the Supreme Court is received.
However, by the time they are obtained, the country will be in the thick of general elections.
As the Supreme Court has asked the state government to submit a comprehensive forest management plan, taking into account the mining project for forest land diversion, the state government has to wait till the mining linkage issue is settled. The state government has completed the hearing of the applications filed before Posco-India.
After the completion of the hearing, the state government will now ask the Centre for prospecting licence (PL) of Khandadhar mines to Posco-India. Only after the Centre?s approval, the state will sign the PL deed. The state will be able to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court about the forest land diversion only after the deed is signed.
Of 4004 acres, forest diversion approval is required for 2958.79 acres. About 607.71 acres will come under non-forest government land and 437.68 acres private land. The government has allotted 193.55 acres to Posco-India. However, due to resistance, the company is not able to take possession of this land, too.
At present, with political parties rushing into elections mode, the resistance to the project is likely to be intensified with political supports pouring in.
Posco-India, however, is working out a revised rehabilitation package following a request from the state government. It has chalked out a strategy to buy land from the private land-owners at a negotiated price. The company is proposing to make payments to the landholders through an Escrow account.