Chief Minster Naveen Patnaik will hold direct talks with a 15-member team of the United Action Committee, a pro-Posco outfit, on Friday in Bhubaneswar to sort out contentious issues pertaining to the proposed mega steel plant of Posco.
The discussions would focus on the finalization of the compensation package for the Posco project, resettlement of 75 pro-Posco families of Gobindpur and Patana villages in Jagatsinghpur district and on law and order problems in the Posco site.
“Fifteen members of UAC would meet the Chief Minister on Friday to hold talks on issues related to the Posco project. The Chief Minister has agreed to our long-standing demand of finalizing the Posco compensation package”, said UAC general secretary, Nirvaya Samantray.
Meanwhile, the Jagatsinghpur district collector Narayan Jena has sent a letter to UAC members inviting them to attend the meeting with the Chief Minister on Friday.
The Chief Minister's meeting with the pro-Posco outfit assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of a meet held on last Sunday with the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organization spearheading the anti-Posco movement in the state.
After his meeting with the PPSS activists, the Chief Minister had announced to hold talks with the pro-Posco groups and also assured to visit the Posco project site.
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It may be noted that several rounds of discussions held earlier between the UAC members and the Jagatsinghpur district administration had failed to yield any breakthrough.
UAC was steadfast in its demand for the fulfillment of its 29-point charter of demands relating to compensation package, rehabilitation and resettlement of families.
Their main demands include a compensation of Rs 25 lakh per acre of private land and Rs 15 lakh per acre of encroached government land and Rs 15,000 per decimal towards compensation of betel vines.
UAC had also demanded a compensation of Rs three lakh per acre towards the loss of prawn gheris.
As per the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R& R) policy, each beneficiary would get Rs 6,000 per decimal towards loss of betel vines and Rs one lakh per acre for prawn gheries.
Besides, the UAC members had also demanded the resettlement of 75 families of Gobindpur and Patana villages who were ostracized by the anti-Posco activists and are living in the Posco transit colony for the past three years.
The UAC activists alleged that these families were forced to quit their villages after being tortured and humiliated by the anti-Posco activists.