“The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Jagatsinghpur district administration will jointly take up land acquisition work from May 18,” Priyabrata Patnaik, the nodal officer for the Posco project, said today.
The Union environment ministry on May 2 granted final approval for the diversion of 1,253 hectares of forest land to build the steel plant near Orissa’s Paradip after receiving a fresh assurance from the Orissa government that forest rights laws have not been violated.
Patnaik told reporters here today that government forestland, on which betel vines cultivation was being undertaken, would be acquired first. “Measurement of such land will be carried out first and compensation will be paid to the occupants on the spot,” he said.
Patnaik said, by and large, villagers at the proposed project area site were in favour of the South Korean steel giant’s project and were willing to hand over their land for the project. “A handful of people are opposing the project,” he said.
The nodal officer made it clear that the private land in the Dhinkia area, the epicentre of the anti-Posco movement, would not be acquired for the project.
The area is almost out of bounds for government and Posco officials because of the land agitation.