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State's industrial policy yields dividend

BHUBANESWAR: With the resumption of land acquisition for the proposed steel plant of the Posco-India Private Limited on Tuesday, the Naveen Patnaik Government seems to be emerging successful in acquiring land for proposed industries by applying the policy of divide and rule or divide and acquire.

Be it acquisition of land for the proposed steel plant project of Tata Steel at Kalinganagar or the steel mill of the Posco in Jagatsinghpur district, the State Government has been applying the same formula to cope with the stiff opposition from the people opposing displacement.

Interestingly, it was not the administration officials incharge of land acquisition who were doing the entire job. The ruling party politicians, including Ministers and legislators, were playing a key role to divide the locals on political lines to achieve the goal.

In case of the Posco, the opposition was initially total. People in three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon came under the banner of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) to oppose displacement. The administration and the ruling party politicians, however, played their part well, and a division was created with the birth of the United Action Committee (UAC). While PPSS continued its opposition to displacement tooth and nail, the UAC extended its full support to the venture and finally land acquisition began last month.

Compensation

But the UAC too expressed its reservations over the compensation package and method of measurement of betel vines. They blocked roads preventing the administration from going ahead with the acquisition of land and payment of compensation to those supporting the proposed steel plant, and land acquisition process was suspended.

The ruling party leaders, however, stepped in and the matter was stated to have been resolved on Monday by managing a split in the (UAC). And the Bhitamati Surakshya Manch (BSM) was born with the slogan to protect the interests of those facing displacement by the proposed industry. But the land acquisition hurdles for the Posco-India project seem to be far from over.

“The divide and rule policy of the Government will not work for long. The Government has started land acquisition for Posco in Gadakujang area where the ruling Biju Janata Dal has a strong support base. The administration is also deploying armed policemen thereby suppressing the genuine voices of dissent,” said Prashant Paikray, spokesperson of PPSS.

Terming the land acquisition process illegal in view of the observation of a Committee from the Centre with regard to implementation of the Forest Rights Act in the area earmarked for the Posco project, Mr. Paikray said PPSS would put up strong resistance to the “tactful land acquisition'” when the administration comes to acquire land in the remaining two gram panchayats.

The Government should stop the whole process of land acquisition and payment of compensation as the memorandum of understanding singed between it and Posco had since expired, he said.

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