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Demarcation work to start soon

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa government’s nodal officer for POSCO-India’s proposed steel project Priyabrata Patnaik has said that they were no longer keen to talk to the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti that was opposing land acquisition for the steel venture.

Mr. Patnaik, who is also the Transport and Commerce Secretary of the State Government, said that he had talked to PPSS president Mr. Abhay Sahu on two occasions in the past but there was no headway.

The nodal officer had on Thursday held detailed discussions with a large group of people who were to lose land and face displacement to make space for the mega steel project. The meeting was held at Erasama in Jagatsinghpur in the presence of the district administration officials as well as senior officials of the South Korean steel company.

As regards the land demarcation for the project, Mr. Patnaik said that they would make use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for the purpose. The land demarcation work would start soon, he added.

The government is planning to hand over 500-odd acres of land to POSCO-India in the first phase. This land was entirely government land and did not come under forestland category.

Meanwhile, POSCO-India has completed the socio-economic impact study in the project area. The survey has been conducted for the company by the city-based Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

The company has also engaged Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur for preparing the rehabilitation and resettlement plan for the people who would be affected by the proposed steel plant.

The land acquisition, however, is not likely to be easy as situation remains tense in the project site with the PPSS reiterating its resolve to continue its opposition to acquisition of agricultural land for the project with SEZ status.

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Demarcation work to start soon

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