The United Action Committee (UAC), a pro-Posco outfit active in the project site of the South Korean steel major in Orissa, has formed a core committee to hold discussion with the revenue divisional commissioner (RDC), Central range, on its long pending demands related to the project.
The discussion is scheduled for tomorrow and is expected to revolve around UAC’s six prominent demands regarding higher compensation to the project affected persons and jobs to the locals
UAC conducted its preparatory meeting at Gadkujang today to finalise strategies to press its demands before the RDC. It had submitted its list of demands to the district administration on Saturday as a pre-curser to the tomorrow’s meeting.
Out of 52 members in UAC, the core committee chosen to hold talks with the RDC consists of 12 members including its president, Anadi Rout, secretary, Nirvya Samantray, sarpanch Gadakujang, panchyat samiti member, Saumendra Nayak, Tamil Pradhan.
The six most prominent demands in their list included, one job to each of the 3000 project affected family of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayats, increasing the price of agricultural and homestead land, hiking the compensation for betel vine workers from 20 to 30 percent of the value of compensation being paid to the vine owners, measuring the betel vines from stay to stay’ instead of present system of fence to fence, giving contract work to the local contractors during the construction phase and paying compensation to the beneficiaries who had demolished their betel vines in 2008.
Sources said, the 2008 survey report had mentioned about the existence of 1961 betel vines covering an area of 394.39 acres in the project site. Subsequently 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 Rs 6,000 per decimal at that time.
These betel vines have not been included in the asset list of the survey this year. Besides, the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) constituted for the project has increased the compensation for betel vines to Rs 11,500 per decimal.