As palpable tension prevailed at Gadakujanga, Nuagaon and Dhinkia gram panchayats, where the Posco project is proposed, the administration deployed police in large numbers and went ahead with land acquisition. The opposition to the project comes from the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), an anti-industry outfit, and non-cooperation from the United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-industry group.
The Centre had stopped land acquisition on August 5, 2010, over alleged forest law violations, but the Union environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh on May 2 granted final clearance to Orissa for diversion of 1,253 hectare of forest land for Posco's steel facility, which promises to be the country's biggest foreign direct investment at $12 billion.
"Land acquisition for Posco is being done by the district administration in consultation with local people," said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Read the full report here.
Source: Sandeep Mishra, TNN, Bhubaneswar.
