By Our Correspondent
PARADIP/BHUBANESWAR: Impressed by the comprehensive RR Packages, locals betel vine farmers, those who earlier opposed, South Korean , POSCO, now reposing faith on Sajjan Jindal led JSW Steel , which is coming up with an Integrated Steel Plant in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur.
Sources said , the process of demolition of betel vines and tree identification for the JSW project going on in full swing, with disbursement of compensation exceeding Rs 3 Crore. Work is in full swing for the proposed JSW project in Dhinkia Nuagaon and Gadkujang panchayat under Ersama tehsil of Jagatsinghpur district.
On the one hand, the betel vines survey is underway in Patna, Mahal and Govindpur villages of Dhinkia panchayat. On the other hand, identification process for cutting of trees in forest land in Govindpur village has started.Since last Friday, more than five hundred trees have been identified till date. These include a variety of fruit bearing trees like Moringa,Mango,Jackfruit, Cashewnut,Banana etc.
The Department of Horticulture has assessed the compensation amount according to the size of the trees as per which, the beneficiaries will be compensated. It is observed that people who have received compensation after forgoing betel vines are showing eagerness to get more compensation by cutting trees. Till date, 308 betel vines have been measured, of which 166 have been broken.
Till date, 125 beneficiaries have been provided with financial assistance of over Rs 3.15 crore.It is encouraging that there is a steady rise in the support among the local people for the proposed JSW project which is a favorable gesture for the setting up of the mega steel plant in the near future.
JSW, the leading steelmaker of India had already 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. The compensation announced is way above the policy provisions outlined in the Rehabilitation & Resettlement Policy, Government of Odisha, 2006. The proposed compensation had 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.
