Indus Valley Times

The steel behemoth has proposed to set up a 13.2 MTPA steel plant with an investment of Rs 55k-Cr

By Swagatika Bhutia

Paradip 25, Feb. 25: All eyes are now focused on the forthcoming visit of an Odisha High Court-appointed panel to Dhinkia village near Paradip where country’s leading steelmaker JSW’s has proposed to build a crude steel plant.

The team comprising members from various walks of life had on January 14 visited the village. However, the team members could not meet the local residents as some ‘outside elements’ allegedly created disturbances, forcing them to retreat.

As per the direction of the HC, the team would visit Dhinkia again on March 5 and listen to the demands and grievances of the locals. It will submit its report to the HC on March 8.

The fresh development has raised hope for clearance of the land acquisition hurdle the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW has been facing to set up its proposed to set up a 13.2-million-tonne per annum (MTPA) crude plant at Paradip with an investment of Rs 55,000 crore.

In fact, JSW’s steel project is coming up in 2,950 acres of land it got from the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (IDCO) after payment of compensation under the Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Policy 2006.

JSW has already announced a fresh compensation package for the Dhinkia residents. As per the package, farmers losing betel vines were promised a compensation of Rs 17.5 per acre. This is way above the provision of Rs 6 lakh per acre as charted out in the Odisha government’s R&R Policy 2006. Additionally, a bonus of Rs 50,000 per betel vine, irrespective of size has been announced.

JSW has availed all supports from the state government side and project site villages through public hearings for its ambitious project, some ‘outsiders’ from Bhubaneswar and other places are reportedly claiming that the people of Dhinkia from where around 40 acres of land are proposed to be acquired are opposed to the project.