Even as the Central government is expected to decide the fate of the Posco’s Rs 54,000-crore steel plant in Orissa during the current month, the CPI has extended its full support to the agitation against this mega venture marking the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.
As such, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, the outfit spearheading the agitation against the Posco project, currently led by Abhaya Sahu, a member of state CPI secretariat.
“The agitation has reached its final phase and don’t give up the stir. The CPI will extend all support to you to safeguard the interest of the poor people in the state,” CPI general secretary AB Bardhan told his party men at Chhatrapur, the district head quarter town of Ganjam district.
The CPI leader was addressing the party’s state unit convention. Referring to the reports of the Saxena committee and Meena Gupta committee, Bardhan came down heavily on the state government for violation of Forest Right Act (FRA) in the Posco area. “We are not opposing the industrialization, but it should not be at the cost of the people’s interest,” he said.
Bardhan’s call for fresh agitation against the Posco project assumes significance in view of the speculation that the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), which is scheduled to meet on January 18-19, may decide the fate of the project.
The South Korean firm, meanwhile, has urged the MoEF to consider the port and the steel project as an integrated unit while considering the issues of forest and environment clearance.
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“While the government is eager to protect the interest of the industrial houses, it is blind to the plights of the peasants, who have suffered huge crop loss due to the untimely rains in the first week of December. He urged the government to declare the untimely rains as National Calamity in three states- Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu and extend all necessary assistance to the rain-hit farmers.
“The Central government is not coming forward to help the poor farmers, while lakhs of crores are being siphoned off through different corruptions,” Bardhan said in an allude to the Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2-G spectrum scam and charges of misappropriation to the tune of Rs 17,000-crore in the Commonwealth Games.
Referring to the rise of prices of the essential commodities, he said, “The onion, which is considered as the poor men’s food, has become a luxurious item with its price ruling at Rs 70 per kg.”
When the price of the essential commodities is skyrocketing, the government has not taken any step to control it. “No action has been taken against the hoarders,” he alleged.