Uncertainty looms large over the holding of the meeting of the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) for the Posco’s mega steel project in Orissa as the government is likely to miss the November time line for this meeting.
The RPDAC meeting is crucial for finalization of the compensation package for the affected persons and expedite work on the 12 million tonne steel plant proposed to come up near Paradip.
The RPDAC, which was scheduled to be held on November 16, was deferred as the district administration of Jagatsinghpur, where the project is to be located, is still struggling to bring normalcy to the trouble torn villages of Dhinkia and Gobindpur within the project site.No fresh date has been finalized for the meeting, confirmed Surjeet Dash, the district resettlement officer.
Meanwhile, the members of the United Action Committee (UAC), a body formed by the local sympathisers of the project, led by Tamil Pradhan, Nirvaya Samantray, Anadi Rout and others suggested the district administration to conduct the RPDAC meeting after restoring normalcy in Dhinkia and Gobindpur villages.
UAC urged the district administration to resettle nearly 150 families in these two villages who have quit their respective villages due to the ongoing clashes between the pro and anti-Posco activists.
Gyanranjan Dash, the Jagatsinghpur district collector, recently interacted with the UAC members and assured to resettle these villagers before the RPDAC meeting.
Sources said, Ashok Kumar Meena, the revenue divisional commissioner, has suggested to the district administration to defer the date of the RPDAC meeting. Meena is for conduct of the RPDAC meeting after the feasibility study of the Posco site and taking note of the demands of the villagers.
During a recent visit of Meena to the affected villages, the Posco officials presented him the detailed report on the socio-economic survey of the site and the demands of the villagers.
The RPDAC meeting on the Posco project is important as it is expected to give an impetus to the conciliation process for finalization of the compensation package for the affected persons and prepare the ground to facilitate the visit of South Korean President Lee Myung to lay the foundation stone of the project in January, next year.
The objective of the RPDAC meet is to garner support of the locals for the beleaguered project, said a official.
Posco's steel project in the s\tate has been hanging fire ever since the signing of the MoU (memorandum of understanding) between the company and the state government in 2005.
