Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) for the Posco steel project in Orissa will meet next month to finalise the rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for the project affected persons.
If required, RPDAC may offer sops to the project hit people beyond the recommendation of the R & R policy of the state government in a bid to win over their support for the project, sources said.
It may be noted, the project, for which the South Korean steel major had entered into a MoU with the state government in June, 2005, is hanging fire for last four years due stiff opposition of the locals.
The decision to hold the RPDAC meeting next month was taken at high level review meeting chaired by the state chief secretary, TK Mishra here today. The officials of the Union steel ministry also participated in the meeting.
Sources said, the district collector of Jagatsinghpur, under whose jurisdiction the site of the project is located, has been directed to discuss with the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Central Zone, on the convening of the RPDAC meeting.
The meeting will take a comprehensive view on various demands made by the affected persons and prepare a rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package acceptable to the project displaced persons (PDPs) and project affected persons (PAPs).
“The RPDAC meeting will be convened in November to discuss the R&R issues and evolve a package taking a comprehensive view of the demands made by the affected people”, Ashok Dalwai, secretary, steel and mines, Orissa government said.
“The state government would like to start the Posco project by addressing the problems coming in the way of the project. RPDAC, which is an integrated platform having representatives from the people’s organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), officials of various departments and Self-Help Groups, will be able to arrive at a consensus on the issue”, Dalwai said.
“Since Posco has stated that it is ready to go beyond the R&R policy framed by the government, there will not be any difficulty in getting a good package acceptable to the people. The additional package like compensation to the government land encroachment can be considered by RPDAC”, he added.
On today’s review meeting, Dalwai said, the 12 million tonne Posco steel project, billed as the largest FDI proposal in the county, is equally important for the Union government to attain the targeted steel production set by the National Steel Policy.
However, he refused to give any deadline as to when the stalemate pertaining to land acquisition can be resolved. Sources said, this will be the second RPDAC meeting on the Posco project with the first one held in 2006.
U P Singh, joint secretary in the Union ministry of steel said, the Orissa government has already initiated steps for expediting the project. On the proposed visit of the South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to Orissa, he said, Lee may come if the situation is favourable.
