By Our Correspondent
PARADIP/BHUBANESWAR: The Jagatsinghpur district administration on Monday peacefully completed the demarcation of newly formed Mahala revenue village, located at the JSW Steel project site. Erasama Tahasildar and other senior officials were among those present during the demarcation drive while locals extended their support.
Meanwhile, tensions prevailed after project opponents opposed the demarcation drive. At least 2 persons of Dhinkia village, have been arrested, police said. Local SP Akhileswar Singh has been closely monitoring the law and order situation at the project site.
Few days back, Sajjan Jindal led JSW Steel, the leading steelmaker of India, had declared its compensation package for the project affected people with ration card in the land losing villages of Nuagaon, Gada Kujang & Dhinkia GP, for its Integrated Steel Plant at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur. The compensation announced was way above the policy provisions outlined in the Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy, Govt. of Odisha, 2006. The proposed compensation has emerged through a series of collaborative discussions at the district, GP and village level with extensive participation of villagers, district administration and other stakeholders to elicit public opinion.
Jindal South West Steel is among the largest steelmakers in the world with a current capacity of 24.5 MTPA. It is listed in S& P Dow Jones Sustainability index for emerging markets for Environment, Social & Governance (ESG) initiatives. The steel giant is expanding its steel-making capacity to 36.5 MT by March 2024. In Odisha, JSW Steel operations include a 2.5 MTPA subsidiary BPSL, 30 MT iron ore mines, 5 MT cement plant and 50 MT iron ore & coal terminal at Paradip port. JSW has proposed expansion of its brownfield project from 2.5 MTPA to 10 MTPA in a phased manner. The Paradip greenfield steel plant with 13.2 MTPA capacity is proposed with a 900 MW captive power plant, 10 MT cement plant and 12 MTPA jetty at Paradip.
