United Action Committee, hitherto known as a pro POSCO project outfit, has threatened to intensify stir and resort to road blockade from August 3rd 2010 if its demand for change in the survey method and higher compensation is not met by the administration.

In another development, two farmers in the project site area, who had received compensation for demolishing their betel vines to clear ground for land acquisition for the project, have returned their compensation cheque to the district administration on the advice of UAC.

The UAC members held an emergency meeting at Gadakujang, a POSCO project affected village and took the decision to intensify their. They demanded that for calculation of compensation, the betel vines to be demolished on the government land should be measured from stay to stay in stead of fence to fence as being done through use of GPS machine.

They said that the new method of measurement would result in monetary loss to the beneficiaries. Besides, they also demanded for inclusion of the betel vines, which were demolished by the villagers on the advice of the POSCO officials during last two years, in the recently prepared survey list for compensation purposes.

Sources said, the 2008 survey report mentioned about the existence of 1961 betel vines covering an area of 394.39 acres in the project site. After that many farmers of Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchyat had demolished their betel vines after being coaxed by the POSCO officials. The company had paid them a compensation of INR 6,000 per decimal at that time.

These betel vines have not been included in the asset list of the recently concluded survey this year. In the meantime, the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee constituted for the project has increased the compensation for betel vines to INR 11,500 per decimal.

Nirvaya Samntray UAC secretary pointed out that hence, the farmers, who had demolished their betel vines earlier, would lose a lot of money.

(Sourced from Business Standard)