A central team headed by Mr NC Saxena would visit the proposed POSCO site near Paradip on July 23 to July 24 to ascertain the Orissa government’s claim that there was no tribal family in the area.

Official sources said that the central team’s visit to the proposed plant site assumed significance following allegation that the state government violated Forest Land Rights Act while recommending POSCO’s application for forest land conversion.

The state government in its recommendations had mentioned that no tribal families were living in the three gram panchayat areas under Ersama block, demarcated for housing the INR 51,000 crore mega steel project. It had also claimed that no other traditional forest dweller was in possession of the land since three generations, and those identified to get affected due to the project had not made any claims over the forest land under the act.

However, CPI backed POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti alleged the state government misled the Centre on tribal residents in the area as well as on traditional forest dwellers.

Mr Abhay Sahu president of PPSS claimed that “There are about 10 tribal families at Polang area under Gada Kujang gram panchayat and a large number of non-tribal traditional forest dwellers in possession of forest land in the three gram panchayats.”

(Sourced from PTI)