<p>After a few months, local villagers opposing the Posco steel plant in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district have relaunched their agitation following the district administration’s fresh attempt to acquire land for the project.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Members of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), who are spearheading the agitation, have re-erected bamboo barricades and sealed entry points into Dhinkia-Gobindapur area to prevent any attempt by the district officials or the police to enter. <br />“Forget about land acquisition, district officials will not be allowed to step into the area,” said PPSS leader Abhay Sahu.<br /><br />Police force<br /><br />According to sources, more than ten platoons of the police have already been deployed in the area in view of the agitation.<br /><br />The state government has already acquired 2,000 of the 2700 acres of land required for the mega project. <br /><br />The process to acquire the remaining 700 acres began last week with District Collector S K Mallick holding a series of discussions with pro-Posco villagers besides the district police.<br /><br />Plant size reduced<br /><br />Posco had planned to set up a 12 million tonnes per annum steel mill in the coastal district at a cost of Rs 52,000 crore. However, the size of the plant has now been reduced to eight million tonnes per annum.<br /><br />Activists and NGOs supporting the anti-Posco movement have strongly criticised the state government’s decision to restart the land acquisition process when a case is still pending before the green tribunal. <br /><br />Also, the MoU between the Odisha government and the South Korean steel major is pending renewal after it expired in the middle of 2010.</p>
<p>After a few months, local villagers opposing the Posco steel plant in Odisha’s Jagatsinghpur district have relaunched their agitation following the district administration’s fresh attempt to acquire land for the project.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Members of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), who are spearheading the agitation, have re-erected bamboo barricades and sealed entry points into Dhinkia-Gobindapur area to prevent any attempt by the district officials or the police to enter. <br />“Forget about land acquisition, district officials will not be allowed to step into the area,” said PPSS leader Abhay Sahu.<br /><br />Police force<br /><br />According to sources, more than ten platoons of the police have already been deployed in the area in view of the agitation.<br /><br />The state government has already acquired 2,000 of the 2700 acres of land required for the mega project. <br /><br />The process to acquire the remaining 700 acres began last week with District Collector S K Mallick holding a series of discussions with pro-Posco villagers besides the district police.<br /><br />Plant size reduced<br /><br />Posco had planned to set up a 12 million tonnes per annum steel mill in the coastal district at a cost of Rs 52,000 crore. However, the size of the plant has now been reduced to eight million tonnes per annum.<br /><br />Activists and NGOs supporting the anti-Posco movement have strongly criticised the state government’s decision to restart the land acquisition process when a case is still pending before the green tribunal. <br /><br />Also, the MoU between the Odisha government and the South Korean steel major is pending renewal after it expired in the middle of 2010.</p>
