A group of persons from families displaced or affected due to Project Gopalpur of Tata Steel held demonstration in front of main gate of project site of the company at Chamakhandi in Ganjam district of Odisha on Thursday.
Police deployed
This demonstration was held under the banner of ‘Tata Visthapita Manch’. Aroudn 500 persons including women took part in this demonstration. They demanded revision of compensation for their land acquired by the company to be enhanced to fifty lakh rupees per acre as well as permanent employment to one member of each displaced family. Demonstrators threatened to start cultivation on land acquired by the company if their demand was not fulfilled. To avoid tension, the police had to be deployed at the spot and local sub-collector reached the spot to hold discussions with the demonstrators.
Concrete suggestion
Vice-president of ‘Tata Visthapita Manch’ N. Bairagi Reddy said neither the administration nor the Tata Steel authorities had come up with any concrete suggestion or promise regarding their demands.
According to him their organization had decided to continue with their agitation.
Additional benefits
Commenting about this agitation Tata Steel authorities came up with a release through which the company claimed that revised Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) package is being extended to all land losing families along with one-time self-engagement assistance to these families. This package has already received approval of administration and efforts are on for its implementation.
The Odisha government and Tata Steel had come up with a set of additional R & R benefits for the families displaced or affected by the project of the company in Ganjam district. These benefits are in addition to the compensation and benefits these families had received during land acquisition for Tata Steel in 1996-97.
According to the company such agitations slow down the pace of the progress of work of ferrochrome plant of the company in the area, which is nearing commissioning.
The 55,000 Tons per Annum (TPA) capacity ferrochrome plant being established at an investment 800 crore rupees would be the anchorage industry for the SEZ of Tata Steel near Gopalpur port in Ganjam district.
The SEZ coming up on the land that had been acquired by the company for its now shelved mega steel plant project near Gopalpur port.
