The Orissa government started land and socio-economic surveys for the controversial $12-billion steel plant to be built by POSCO-India.
JAGATSINGHPUR (Orissa): The Orissa government on Tuesday started land and socio-economic surveys for the controversial $12-billion steel plant to be built by POSCO-India, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korean Pohang Iron and Steel Co.
POSCO, one of the world's biggest steel makers, signed a deal with the state government in June 2005 to set up the plant by 2016 near Paradeep port in the coastal Jagatsinghpur district.
The district administration on Tuesday opened the office of the revenue inspector at Nuagaon village, some 120 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, which was closed since Feb 22, 2006 due to protests by people opposing the project.
The office was opened after most of the residents of the village, which has a population of about 3,000, came forward to support the project, a senior district administrative official said.
The officials who led the survey work include District Land Acquisition Officer Surjit Kumar Das, Local Block Development Officer Muralidhar Swain and Local Tehsildar Debashis Singh, he said.
None opposed the opening of the office, he said on condition of anonymity.
POSCO wants over 4,000 acres of land for the project. While 430 acres is private land, the rest belongs to the government.
The state government has provided 1,500 acres to the company. However, the company has yet to take possession of the land.
Over 20,000 people from around 15 nearby villages, including Dhinkia, Gada Kujanga and Nuagaon villages, were earlier protesting the project, saying it will not only displace them but also ruin their livelihoods.
Many of them have now come forward to support the project, the official claimed.
The region has witnessed numerous clashes between supporters and opponents of the project since the signing of the deal.
Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), an organisation comprising people of the region, has been opposing the project. A spokesman of the organisation said their protest would continue.
The district administration has deployed about 500 armed policemen in the area.
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