Terming the package as meaningless, leaders of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) and others agitators said the residents of three gram panchayat in Jagatsinghpur district would "never allow" the mega steel plant to come up there. The protesters held a public meeting near Dhinkia and erected barricades to prevent authorities from entering.
On July 8, Posco-India had announced a compensation package for the people to be displaced by its Rs 51,000 crore mega steel project near here where it would pay Rs 17 lakh per acre of agricultural land and 11.5 lakh per acre of area under betel vine, among other provisions.
Terming the Chief Minister as a "betrayer", PPSS President Abhay Sahu said the villagers had allowed peaceful socio-economic and forest survey as Patnaik had promised to visit the area before going ahead with any other project related work. "By paving way for announcement of a compensation package before visiting the area, the chief minister has backtracked from the assurance he had given to the people, mainly farmers whose livelihood is endangered due to the proposed plant by the South Korean steel major," he said. Read the full report here.
Source: Deccan Herald, Paradip, Orissa
