BangaloreThe
fate of South Korean steelmaker Posco’s proposed plant in Karnataka
remains uncertain with two groups of farmers holding different views on
the project.
The government has already assured protesting farmers that the
project would not come up in Gadag district. However, it is also waiting
to see if the issue can be resolved as a separate group of farmers is
offering land for the plant.
Karnataka industries minister Murugesh Nirani, who will meet
officials from Posco this week, said the government was yet to withdraw
the notification of land acquisition. As a section of farmers were
willing to sell land, the government would wait a week for an outcome on
the issue before deciding on an alternative location, he said.
Posco has proposed to set up a 6 million tonnes per annum plant at an
investment of R32,000 crore in Gadag’s Mundargi taluk, located close to
iron-ore rich Bellary.
Protests by farmers supported by religious
seers over the past month had forced the government to halt the process
of acquiring the 3,382 acres notified for the plant last Wednesday.
“Earlier, these people were nowhere in the picture. Everybody was
against the project,” said a person associated with the Tontadarya Mutt,
a religious institution in Gadag which has been spearheading the
protests by local farmers. “The land mafia is behind them,” said this
person, who declined to be named.
According to the district administration, about 150-200 people had
given a letter of consent last Friday to sell their land if the
government agreed to a list of 13 demands which include fixing land
prices on par with neighbouring Bellary district and jobs.
The protests had started after notices were served on the land
holders in May, and they sought help from the mutt. Around 20 acres
belonging to the mutt, incidentally, also falls within the notified
area. The farmers’ opposition was on the basis that the notified area
was fertile and that the plant would cause damage to the rich natural
vegetation in a nearby range of hills.
According to an official, there are no major industries in Gadag and
the government’s push to locate more factories in the northern districts
is an attempt to develop the region and also de-congest Bangalore
district.