The Telegraph reported that betel farmers n Jagatsinghpur where the POSCO steel plant is to come up said that they have been given a raw deal by the Orissa government.
As per report, day after the state government doubled the compensation package for villagers to be affected by the proposed steel plant, betel vine farmers are leading the resistance to the POSCO project, a
Several farmers The Telegraph spoke to today termed the package an act of betrayal by the chief minister.
Mr Khirod Behera of Nuagaon one of the villages that is holding out against the steel project said that “Mr Naveen Patnaik CM of Orissa had committed to come here and see for himself the plight of these villages. We had been told that the chief minister would decide whether the project would come up here or not. But he skipped the visit and we read from newspapers of the compensation scheme.
Mr Behera said that looking at the green betel vines, agriculture fields and orchards Mr Naveen would have thought otherwise.
Farmer Mr Bhagabat Dalei said that look at my vine. I am cultivating betel at this 6 decimal patch. My annual income runs up to INR 0.1 million. Besides, 20 fellow villagers work in my vine and feed their family. POSCO will drive us to the streets. The company will compensate me with meager INR 0.25 million and in return it would snatch away from me and from my workers a permanent source of income.
Mr Pradhan said that the amount the company would give us is too low. Betel leaf cultivation here is like a pot of gold. The sum of INR 1.15 million per acre of betel vine should have been doubled to make up for our permanent livelihood loss.
Mr Banshidhar Rout of Dhinkia, the epicenter of the anti POSCO movement said that we are going to bear the maximum brunt of livelihood loss once the steel plant comes up. We are still not in a mood to be dispossessed of immovable assets. Even those in favor of the steel plant coming up said they expected more.
Mr Nirvaya Samantaray of Nuagaon said that we have been meted out a raw deal. The Essar steel project has awarded INR 1.95 million per acre of private land. We hoped for more from POSCO because our land is fertile and our area is lush green. The offer of INR 1.7 million per acre is uncalled for.
Mr Anadi Charan Rout president of United Action Committee said that “For supporting POSCO since the past five years, anti POSCO activists have terrorized us. We have suffered a lot at their hands. But now we oppose POSCO because the package is largely on a lower side. The government must make a sizeable hike in the packages for betel vine, private land and prawn farm loss to win the people’s confidence.”
The scheme offers land, house, a job, and unemployment dole and transport allowance for the villagers to be displaced by the much delayed 12 million tonne steel plant in Jagatsinghpur.
(Sourced from Telegraphindia.com)
