Paradip (Orissa):
Posco-India on Thursday announced a compensation package for the people to be displaced by its Rs 51,000 crore mega steel project near here in Orissa's Jagansinghpur district.
The South Korean steel major would pay Rs 17 lakh per acre of agricultural land while the price of area under betel vine was fixed at Rs 11.5 lakh per acre, official sources said.
Agreeing to pay compensation for government land encroached by villagers, the steel major also offered a monthly allowance of Rs 2,250 for people cultivating betel vines at the proposed plant site, the sources said.
The company promised to provide a job to one member of every displaced families according to their educational qualification, the sources said.
This apart, the company also announced Rs 2 lakh per acre used for prawn ponds, according to the new rehabilitation package announced at the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) meeting held here, the sources said.
To make the package attractive, the steel major also committed that it would provide a three-room pucca house built on 10 decimal of land with a cowshed to each displaced family. Each displaced family would also be provided Rs 5,000 as transport cost.
"The RPDAC is meeting at Jagatsinghpur this evening to finalise rehabilitation package for the people to be affected by Posco project," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had said earlier in the day after reviewing the progress of the Posco project.
Those not accepting the company's offer of a house at the proposed rehabilitation colony, would be provided Rs 1.66 lakh while provisions were made for allotting larger houses for joint or large families, the sources said.
Posco-India which initially applied for 4004.19 acre to build its 12 mtpa mega steel mill near here, has reduced its land requirement to 3719.22 acre after the state government decided to exclude private land from the Dhinkia gram panchayat area.
Because of this, the sources said, the number of families to be displaced by the project had come down to 613 from the 803 estimated earlier.
Altogether about 1200 families, including those growing betel vines, were likely to be affected by the project, they said.
The RPDAC meeting chaired by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central Division, was attended by about 30 members.
It was, however, boycotted by three of the six panchayat functionaries of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gada Kujang where company was planning to set up its plant.
While all the four local MLAs belonging to the ruling BJD were present, the lone CPI MP could not attend.
"We will abide by the decision of the RPDAC which approved the package," said Posco-India's General Manager (External Relations) Simanta Mohanty.
The PPSS, however, rejected the package terming it as a 'mockery' of the well developed and prospering agrarian economy of the three gram panchayats.
"We are for driving out Posco and not for accepting the rehabilitation package," PPSS president Abhay Sahu said.
The South Korean steel major would pay Rs 17 lakh per acre of agricultural land while the price of area under betel vine was fixed at Rs 11.5 lakh per acre, official sources said.
Agreeing to pay compensation for government land encroached by villagers, the steel major also offered a monthly allowance of Rs 2,250 for people cultivating betel vines at the proposed plant site, the sources said.
The company promised to provide a job to one member of every displaced families according to their educational qualification, the sources said.
This apart, the company also announced Rs 2 lakh per acre used for prawn ponds, according to the new rehabilitation package announced at the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) meeting held here, the sources said.
To make the package attractive, the steel major also committed that it would provide a three-room pucca house built on 10 decimal of land with a cowshed to each displaced family. Each displaced family would also be provided Rs 5,000 as transport cost.
"The RPDAC is meeting at Jagatsinghpur this evening to finalise rehabilitation package for the people to be affected by Posco project," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had said earlier in the day after reviewing the progress of the Posco project.
Those not accepting the company's offer of a house at the proposed rehabilitation colony, would be provided Rs 1.66 lakh while provisions were made for allotting larger houses for joint or large families, the sources said.
Posco-India which initially applied for 4004.19 acre to build its 12 mtpa mega steel mill near here, has reduced its land requirement to 3719.22 acre after the state government decided to exclude private land from the Dhinkia gram panchayat area.
Because of this, the sources said, the number of families to be displaced by the project had come down to 613 from the 803 estimated earlier.
Altogether about 1200 families, including those growing betel vines, were likely to be affected by the project, they said.
The RPDAC meeting chaired by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central Division, was attended by about 30 members.
It was, however, boycotted by three of the six panchayat functionaries of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gada Kujang where company was planning to set up its plant.
While all the four local MLAs belonging to the ruling BJD were present, the lone CPI MP could not attend.
"We will abide by the decision of the RPDAC which approved the package," said Posco-India's General Manager (External Relations) Simanta Mohanty.
The PPSS, however, rejected the package terming it as a 'mockery' of the well developed and prospering agrarian economy of the three gram panchayats.
"We are for driving out Posco and not for accepting the rehabilitation package," PPSS president Abhay Sahu said.
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