Posco project: Survey work starts despite protests

Despite people from six villages opposing the land survey work by government officials for the 12 million tonne Posco steel plant at Jagatsinghpur district,on Tuesday the local administration started the survey work in a village in the area.

After a clash between the agitating villagers and the police over a blockade on a road leading to the project site on May 15,Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on May 20 proposed that about 300 acres of private land from Dhinkia mouza could be left out of the project area. Naveen,however,made it clear that the project work would go on as scheduled.

Jagatsinghpur District Collector Narayan Chandra Jena said his officials started survey work from Noliasahi village in Gadakujanga grampanchayat to assess the loss of crop land and homestead land to be suffered by the displaced people. “We had earlier declared a rehabilitation package for the displaced people. The package included money for betel vines,agricultural lands and homestead lands. Now we are planning a better rehabilitation package for the displaced people. By the time the survey work is over,we would have come out with the new package,” said Jena.