telegraphindia.com reported that former union minister and Congress leader Mr Chandra Sekhar Sahu has asked TATA Steel to return unused land it had acquired for its shelved mega steel project at Gopalpur.

Mr Sahu said the TATAs must utilise the land for the purpose for which it had been acquired else they should return it to the farmers.

Mr Sekhar said that “The TATA group has backtracked from its steel project. The proposed industrial park is meaningless.”

Environment activist Mr Prafulla Samantara also demanded that the state government must take measures to return the acquired land to the farmers. He added that “The land should not be given to the TATAs for its proposed industrial park.”

Though the state government has declared that there is no question of returning the land to its original owners, the demand for its return to farmers for agricultural use keep cropping up.

Steel and mines minister Mr Raghunath Mohanty had said earlier that “The demand for return of the acquired land to the original landowners is unjustified.”

TATA Steel is planning to set up a special economic zone for which the Centre has given clearance. Gopalpur SEZ Limited, a subsidiary has been allowed to develop the SEZ.

The state pollution control board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on environmental clearance for the two proposed projects of TATA Steel at Chamakhandi village near Chatrapur in Ganjam district on September 20.

(Sourced from www.telegraphindia.com)