Posco-India?s proposed 12 million tonne steel project in Orissa has put the state chief minister Naveen Patnaik in an unenviable position. For, if the project does not come up, it will certainly show his government in bad light. And if it does, dissidents in his party, the Biju Janata Dal BJD), will get a morale booster.
The Posco project is considered Patnaik?s pet project. But despite state government patronage and goading by the prime minister?s office, it is yet to take off, mainly because of the agitation by local inhabitants facing displacement in Jagatsinghpur district.
The situation got a boost recently when BJD MLA Damodar Rout, who turned dissident following his removal from the cabinet by Naveen Patnaik, took cudgels in support of the project. With Rout leading the pro-project movement, the situation started turning around. Pro-project activists, who would not dare to face anti-Posco activists, mustered courage to drive away the rival camp from proposed plant site. Social activist Medha Patkar also faced the ire of pro-project people when she went there to express solidarity with anti-project activists last week.
The proposed Posco site has virtually turned into a battle zone with pro- and anti-project activists preparing for a major showdown. The Posco Pratirodh Sangam Samiti (PPSS), the organisation that?s leading the displaced people, has resolved to continue its fight. ?Activists are ready to lay down their lives?, said PPSS leader Abhaya Sahoo.
Anticipating large-scale violence in the area, the state government has send 13 platoons of police force to the proposed site. State home secretary, TK Mishra, has issued an alert notice that CPI(Maoist) activists may infiltrate into the area and indulge in violence.
As a Nandigram-like situation builds up around the plant site, Patnaik seems to be a disturbed ma. ?The state government will not compromise on the law and order situation?, he says, disapproving of Rout?s strategy.
Rout, the panchayati raj minister in Naveen Patnaik cabinet, was dropped from the ministry. He was called back to Bhubaneswar while on official tour and asked to submit his papers hours before the reshuffle about a year back. An outraged Rout unfurled the banner of revolt. Defying party discipline, he fielded his candidates in the last panchayat polls and got many of them elected against BJD candidates. Rout, a known critic of the Posco project, changed his stance, reportedly to join dissident BJD leaders who are Posco supporters.
However, Patnaik will certainly not like to see a dissident leader take all the accolades for piloting the project being watched eagerly by industries the world over. With elections looming large, Patnaik cannot afford to have a Nandigram in Jagatsinghpur. At the same time, he is also worried that he may not be able to adhere to his own deadline of April 1, 2008, for launching the project.
Either way, Patnaik stands to be a loser. If the project does come up, it will be a victory for BJD dissidents. If it fails to come up, it will be a victory for Opposition parties.