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Three years after lapsing of the original memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Posco India, the Odisha government is nearing the process to ink a fresh agreement with the steel major.
The new pact will be in the form of a tripartite agreement involving Posco India, its parent company- South Korean firm Posco and the state government after the law department voiced its opposition to renewing MoU retrospectively.
"We are processing the MoU file of Posco India as per the views of the law department. After due processing, the file will go to the chief minister's office within a month”, said chief secretary B K Patnaik.
Posco India had signed MoU with the state government on June 22, 2005 for its 12 million tonne greenfield steel plant to be set up near Paradeep. The MoU valid for five years, expired on June 21, 2010.
The extension of the MoU was delayed ostensibly due to differences between the state government and Posco India over ore swapping and employment clause.
Initially, Posco India had expressed its reservations over the 'employment clause' which stipulates that industries setting up their projects in the state have to reserve 90% jobs for locals in the unskilled and semi-skilled category, up to 60% in skilled category and 30% for the supervisory and managerial cadre while giving them the option to fill up the post of senior executives from the open market.
In the original MoU, the steel maker was provided the facility to swap the low grade ore from its captive mines in state with high grade ore from Brazil. During discussion for fresh agreement, the state government had insisted on dropping this clause, following which, Posco had agreed to abandon its ore swapping plan.
The steel maker had also requested the state government to allow it to swap high alumina content iron ore found in Khandadhar mines with high grade ore within the country.
Later, Posco had agreed to abandon its ore swapping plan.
The hurdles seem to be clearing gradually for the South Korean steel firm after the Supreme Court last month set aside the July 2010 order of the Odisha High Court that had quashed the state government's recommendation grant of prospecting license (PL) to the company for Khandadhar iron ore mines.
A high powered panel of the Union ministry of environment & forest (MoEF) on last Wednesday recommended revalidation of environment clearance granted in 2007 for a four mtpa plant proposed by Posco India in the first phase.
On land acquisition front, the state government is nearing the completion of second phase wherein 700 acres land was to be acquired.
Posco India had sought 2700 acres land to start work on an eight mtpa plant and later expanding capacity to 12 mtpa envisaged in the original MoU on receiving its full land requirement of 4004 acres.
The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has already acquired 2000 acres and acquisition work is on for additional 700 acres. Of this, 650 acres have been acquired till date.
"Though the state government had decided to acquire 700 acres of land at Gobindpur village for the Posco project, we would acquire about 900 acres there. We have sought police forces from the state government for dismantling the rest 70 betel vines of owners who are not willing to hand over the same”, said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick.
Meanwhile, the anti-Posco protesters have decided to observe Saturday as 'Black Day' and organize a protest meeting against the project.
"We will observe Black Day on Saturday with the cooperation of villages of Dhinkia and Gobindpur as well as Left leaders and leaders of other political parties”, said Sisir Mohapatra, secretary of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the anti-Posco outfit.
However, the arrest of PPSS leader Abhaya Sahu and non-participation of noted CPI leader A B Bardhan on health grounds, is likely to lessen the impact of the protest.
