Posco allotted 1135 acres

Breaking the stalemate over land acquisition for the $12 billion steel project of Posco at Paradip, the Orissa government has handed over 1,135 acres to the company.

This is expected to give a major boost to Posco's endeavour to build the plant at the site, despite troubles caused by the agitation of locals, threatened with displacement.

Posco required about 4,000 acres for the project at the site, of which 89 per cent was government land and the rest private land.

The land handed over to the company was outside the government holding in the area.

In a parallel development, the state government recently reviewed the progress of Posco's mega steel project and announced a slew of measures to expedite the work.

Posco's project work was delayed by about six months owing to problems such as tardy land acquisition and poor infrastructure.

Following the review, which was presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Chairman and Managing Director Priyabrata Patnaik was selected to act as the nodal officer for the Posco plant.

He will function as a facilitator and co-ordinate with different government agencies for smooth execution of the project.

The government also reconstituted the rehabilitation advisory committee by merging the peripheral development committee with the former.

The new committee will be called the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Advisory Committee (RPAC) and will be headed by the revenue divisional commissioner, central division. RPAC will monitor rehabilitation and resettlement of the project-affected people and peripheral development of the new rehabilitation colonies.