The government had acquired about 6,000 acres of lands for the setting up of Tata’s mega steel plant in 1995-96. Then the land owners readily agreed to part with their arable lands as the proposed plant was expected to not only create employment but also help improve the financial condition of the local people.
Meanwhile, 26 years have passed but the construction work for the proposed plant has not progressed beyond a boundary wall. With the proposed plant appearing to be far-fetched, a great deal of resentment has already been there among the land owners and local residents.
Amid this, the recent announcement of the government to return only 206 acres of land to their owners has only added fuel to fire.
“Taking the larger interest of the people into consideration, the state cabinet has decided to return 206 acre and 68 decimals land to their owners,” Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra informed on October 21.
The land owners have demanded that the government must return all the acquired lands in case of the plant not becoming a reality.
“If the government is doing nothing on the acquired lands, they should return the lands to us. We have been opposing setting up of plants other than the Tata’s,” said Chennaya Reddy, a local resident.
Echoing the same opinion, another local resident P Mohan Patra said, “The entire patch is fertile. Hoping something better, we have given our lands to the government. If the Tata plant is not coming up, the government should return our lands so that we can grow crops.”
CPI leader Narayan Reddy also targeted the government over the Tata project issue.
“Industry Minister Pratap Deb had on July 15 informed at the Assembly that the government would return 771 acres of land. I can’t understand the recent conspiracy of returning only 206 acres,” said Reddy.
On the other hand, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) clarified that the government has taken such a decision keeping the people’s demand in view. On the remaining lands, other plants would be set up.
“People are having problem in getting birth certificates and death certificates. They are also facing problems in bearing the cost of their children’s education. Similarly, the landless people are also facing similar problems. Keeping this in view, the government has taken this decision,” said Ramesh Chandra Chau Patnaik, Ganjam district BJD president.
(Reported by Ashok Brahma, OTV )
Sources said villagers of the Gram Panchayats, led by the Rajgangpur MLA CS Rajen Ekka and former MLA George Tirkey, opposed the land acquisition for the project.
As per reports, the administration has begun the process of acquiring land in Kutra, Alanda, Keshramal, and Jhagarpur Panchayats under the Rajgangpur block for the expansion of lime stone mine leased to OCL.
Speaking to OTV, MLA Rajen Ekka said, “If the government wants to allot tribal land to the company, then it should do it as per the provisions under the Constitution. We have raised this question in the Assembly, submitted memorandum to the Governor. A case in this connection is sujudice as well. We will intensify the stir if our demands are not met.”
Bibal Tappo, a protester said, “If the government thinks that we do not abide by the rule of law, then they can shoot us on our chest. But we will never hand over our land to them.”
In October 2018, the administration had held public hearing of the Odisha State Pollution Control Board for DCBL’s mining expansion proposal. But it was disrupted midway by tribals. Administrative sources said the company cannot move ahead with its mining expansion proposal as Gram Sabha approval for land acquisition and pollution clearance are mandatory.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, in a letter to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, informed about the decision.
Locals of Bolangir town had been demanding and even staged demonstration for the construction of bypass to avoid the increasing cases of road mishaps in the town.
In the second week of August only, as many as four persons were killed in separate road mishaps in the town.
For the first time, the anti and pro displacement fronts of tribals made joint arrangements to observe the day. They took out a rally from Champakoila, the spot where the firing took place, to Veerbhumi, the crematorium and offered tributes to the people who laid their lives while protesting land acquisition for TATA steel plant.
"We are jointly observing the Saheed Divas today unlike previous years. So, it will be different one," Rabindra Jarika, secretary of Bisthapan Birodhi Manch said.
Security has been beefed up in view of the huge gathering."We have made elaborate security arrangements in view of huge congregation of tribals. Adequate security forces have been deployed to tackle any possible eventuality. We have appealed to the tribal outfits to observe the day peacefully," additional SP Rajkishore Dora said.
The tribals alleged that they are yet to get justice even though the incident had taken place 12 years ago.
On December 14, 2017 Justice P.K. Mohanty Commission’s inquiry report was tabled in State Assembly. The report stated that the incident took place due to frustration among people who did not get adequate compensation following displacement and land acquisition.
As many as 14 tribal men were killed in police firing on January 2, 2006 while opposing land acquisition for the private company.
In a letter to Patnaik, Gadkari said "I was surprised and pained to receive your letter and media reports suggesting the delay on part of NHAI. I may like to clarify that all these projects are delayed for want of forest clearance and land issues.”
He promised to begin the work within seven days of necessary approvals.
Recalling the previous meeting with him in Delhi, Gadkari reminded Patnaik that he had raised the issues of forest clearance and land acquisition and the CM had assured to resolve all pending issues at the earliest. However, four such projects are waiting for necessary approvals from Odisha government, the letter read.
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"I raised the issue regarding inordinate delay from the Forest Department , Government of Odisha in granting approvals and also delay in land acquisition, due to which major projects of about 500 km length with investment of about Rs 5000 crore were not getting started," he said though his letter.
The Union Minister further stated that the Odisha government should appreciate his stand as he rejected its proposal for a new two lane Brahmani bridge and approved six lane instead in view of future growth in traffic and socio economic importance of the bridge.
He stated that his ministry has been proactively taking up development of NH in Odisha and already projects of 3121 km with approximately an investment of Rs 22,011 crore has been on in the State.
In reply to the letter of Gadkari, Odisha Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh today informed the State Assembly that forest clearance is not required for the construction of bridge over river Brahmani in Rourkela.
“There is no forest near the proposed bridge site. Rourkela DFO has already apprised his higher authorities on the matter. Moreover, no land acquisition is required for construction of a bridge over Brahamni river. I request to BJP not to mislead the people and expedite the work,” Arukh said.
BJP legislature party chief KV Singhdeo came down on the ruling party for misleading the House. “I support the proposal of Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra for formation of Privileges Committee, which could clear the government motive over the issue. Minister Arukh could have clarified the forest clearance matter much before the Naveen-Gadkari meeting in Delhi. The ruling party is trying to divert attention from the main issue,” Singhdeo said.
According to reports, tension had erupted following opposition raised during the land acquisition for Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP).
Two groups are at loggerheads over the issue with one group stressing on utilisation of the land for religious activities while the other group opposing it.
Senior officials said that keeping in view the palpable tension, five platoons of police force have been deployed to maintain law and order.
On Thursday, officials had to opt for police protection as they started land measurement at Rio village as a part of the land acquisition exercise. There has been increasing opposition from the farmers of the village and the nearby area.
Five villagers were detained by police on Friday while they were trying to oppose the land acquisition process. As many as 10 platoons of police have been deployed to maintain the law and order situation in the area.
Additional SP of Sundargarh, Sub-Collector of Panposh and other officials of the district administration are present in the area. The administration is hopeful that things will be resolved soon following discussions with the locals.
“The presence of police personnel was only a precautionary measure and not to use force. We have listened to farmers’ grievances and have tried to resolve their doubts. But further queries can be cleared only after completing the land measurement procedure. So, we are requesting the locals to let us complete that,” said an official.
On the other hand, the farmers are hell-bent on their opposition to the project.
“The administration should tell me how my family is supposed to earn a livelihood when we completely depend on this land’s agricultural produce for the earning,” said a farmer.
(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)
The issue relating to the implementation of the projects was discussed at a high level meeting here attended by Cabinet Committee Investment (CCI) Project Monitoring Group led by Arun Goel, Additional Secretary Project Monitoring Group (PMG) in the Prime Ministers Office.
The meeting presided over by Odisha chief secretary A P Padhi discussed on 44 projects under railway, national highway, coal, steel and mines and power sectors.
Today we discussed on 44 projects. The district collectors view were taken through online. The biggest issue lies with land acquisition and also forest clearance. The collectors have already addressed some of the issues. We have asked them to fix the rest as soon as possible. Overall, the progress has been good and I am very happy about it, said Goel.
Goel also asked the project developers to upload specific problems that they encountered during implementation of the projects on CCI PMG website.
Replying media querries, Chief Secretary Padhi said that the joint exercise has been very fruitful and there has been substantial progress in grounding of the projects. He added that the ground level problems faced in one sector differed from the other. The progress and problems of each individual project was discussed and issues were resolved, he said.
Today's meeting also resolved the problems faced by 12 mega projects including Lingaraj mines, Nuapada-Bangamunda National High way project, Jharsuguda- Barpali-Serdega Rail line project, Garjanbahal coal mine, OPGCL projects, Visa Power Ltd, KVK Nilachal Ltd. NSL Power Ltd and an Ultra mega power project. The concerned agencies were asked to carry on the ground level activities with definite time limits.
However, 32 ongoing projects are still facing hurdles before being grounding up in the state.
The NH projects were discussed in detail as all of them in Odisha are running behind schedule. Land acquisition and environmental clearance are the biggest obstacles in building national highways here. All NHAI projects in the state are behind the schedule, said NHAI CGM & RO, Odisha, Dharmananda Sarangi.
The meeting reviewed the progress of 6 projects in railway sector, 9 in national highway, 2 in petroleum and natural gas sector, 1 in mining sector, 16 in coal sector and 9 in power sector.
Chief Secretary Padhi has set timelines and landmarks for completion of different tasks against each project.
Meanwhile, the e-PMS, an online project monitoring system has been put in place by the central government to monitor the projects involving investment between Rs 100 crore to Rs 1000 crore.
The authority will be set up in all revenue divisions in the State for speedy disposal of disputes relating to land acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement.
Sources said Odisha government has come up with such a decision after several industrial, rail and irrigation projects failed to take off due to land acquisition problems in different parts of the State.
As per the official notification, a district judge or retired judge will be appointed as the head of the Authority. The government shall also appoint an officer as Registrar from among the officers of Odisha Administrative Service (not below the rank of joint secretary).
“The Authority shall hear all the cases pertaining to issues relating to land acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement,” informed Revenue Secretary, Chandrasekhar Kumar.
Moreover, in case of any complaint regarding functioning of the concerned office is reported then the State government will make a reference to Chief Justice of Orissa High Court for appointing a judge to conduct inquiry against the presiding officer.
Land acquisition has not only been a headache for the government, but individuals whose land has been acquired are also a harried lot.
Surendra Gadatia of Paradiapali village in Bolangir is staring at an uncertain future. Portion of his agricultural land was acquired for the Lower Suktel Project while the district administration also razed his house.
Though Surendra has received some amount for the land, he is yet to be compensated for his house.
“I had received some compensation which is not adequate,” said Surendra.
“The Railways has given many projects to Odisha in the past and is dedicated to come up with many more. We have already started work from Bichhupalli in Bolangir district on Khurda Road-Bolangir railway line. We have also expedited the doubling work of Sambalpur-Titlagarh and Titlagarh-Raipur railway lines and completed the electrification work on Jharsuguda-Vizianagaram via Sambalpur, Titlagarh and Rayagada railways routes,” informed Sinha.
“However, due to delay in land acquisition by the Odisha Government, many railway projects are getting delayed,” alleged Sinha.
Sinha further added, “We need 327.93 acre of land in Nayagarh for completing Khurda Road-Bolangir railway project. Similarly, the State Government is yet to allot us 2059.43 acre land in Boudh, 528.31 acre in Sonepur and 38.96 acre in Bolangir for the railway projects. If the Odisha Government allots us the required land at the earliest we can speed up the projects. There is no dearth of money with the Railways and if the State supports us, we will complete the projects soon.”
Meanwhile, Sinha also announced the extension of Gondwana Expresss train to Sambalpur via Jharsuguda Road and Shalimar via Talcher three days in a week.
Sinha also announced new stoppages for as many as ten trains -
Besides, the Sinha along with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone of a New Escalator at Bhubaneswar Railway Station and inaugurated an Escalator and Foot Over Bridge at Berhampur Railway Station and improved Circulating Area at Talcher Railway Station through video conferencing.
"When a decision was taken on Waltair railway division, BJD MPs didn't raise any objection in 2014 but now they are shedding crocodile tears," said Pradhan.
On the other hand, BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma said, "We want the union minister to refrain from taking such anti-Odisha step or else befitting reply will be given by the youth of Odisha in the upcoming days. If required we will also resort to economic blockade."
Out of the total 185 families, who will be displaced for the mega project, land belonging to 55 families has already been acquired while talks are on to complete the acquisition by the stipulated deadline of December 2, 2019, said a district administrative official.
The acquisition of land and property for the ‘Development of Security Zone around Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri’ is being carried as per the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 along with a special Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy.
Under the policy, if an affected person hands over his property which is required for acquisition within 30 days of notification, he will get an additional 10% incentive (cash benefits), said the official.
The process to acquire land of several Mutts within 75 meters is underway with the district administration holding talks with the chief of such religious institutions. Moreover, the land belonging to Radha Ballav, Uttar and Dakshina Parwa and Kataki Mutts will be acquired in the first phase, he said.
Compensation will be paid after assessing the value of the land of Mutts and getting necessary approvals from the chiefs of the religious institutions. As per the 2015 Supreme Court’s order, the land of the Mutts belongs to Lord Jagannath and its ownership is with Sri Jagannath Temple’s Managing Committee. Hence, emphasis is now being given on acquisition of the land, the official added.
Puri Collector Balwant Singh informed that the demarcation of government land and the land belonging to Lord Jagannath is being carried out within 100 meters of the temple and steps are being taken for rehabilitation of Mutts.
“The affected families, who will accept the government package by December 2, will get additional 10 percent benefits. As per the cabinet’s authorisation and R&R policy, we have started discussion with the chiefs of the Mutts beyond 100 meters and they are positive about the redevelopment,” said Singh.
Mahant of Uttar Parswa Mutt, Narayan Ramanuj Das said, “The administration should carry out eviction but at the same time emphasis should be given on preserving the historic significance of the Mutts.”
It may be noted that Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das, during his visit to VIMSAR in July last year, had assured that the land acquisition process for the proposed expansion of the hospital would be completed by October 15. However, even after seven months, the State government is reportedly yet to take up the acquisition process.
Reports said, a total of around 79 acre of government land near Kendriya Vidyalaya in Burla, which was meant to be handed over to the hospital for its developmental project, has been acquired by land mafia. Besides, the lands have been marked by installing pillars and constructing boundaries.
“Due to the lackadaisical attitude of the government, they (mafia) have demarcated the government lands by installing cement pillars and are also selling it. As the hospital’s director post is still vacant, all the projects have been stalled. If the concerned administration does not take any steps, the anti-social elements will gradually grab the entire stretch of government land,” alleged a lawyer and resident of Burla, Laxmidhar Mohanty.
Meanwhile, VIMSAR Dean Professor Brajamohan Mishra informed that the hospital authorities have planned to construct infrastructure and staff quarters on the land as per the expansion proposal of VIMSAR.
“The VIMSAR authorities have a series of plans to develop its infrastructure and we have asked the government to hand over the 79 acre of land near NAC College. We have decided to construct MCH building, 350 staff quarters, new born unit and other infrastructural projects on the land. Once the land is demarcated and handed over to us, we will start the construction process,” stated Mishra.
On the other hand, Sambalpur Collector Subham Saxena informed that the district administration has started taking appropriate steps in this regard. “The administration has taken serious steps to acquire the proposed land and it will be handed over to VIMSAR. A meeting with the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) was also earlier held in this regard,” said Saxena.
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As part of the Khurda-Bolangir railway project, so far, rail line has been set up for only 19 km - from Bolangir to Bichhupali. As per an RTI report obtained from the Indian Railways, due to lack of land acquisition the project is getting delayed.
The idea to connect Bolangir, the business hub of Western Odisha with Khurda was envisioned way back in 1945, but funds could only be allotted for this project only in 1994-95, when Rs 400 crore was earmarked for the project. But delay in the project has multiplied the estimated cost by at least 10 times making it a staggering Rs 4000-crore project.
Odisha and the Centre entered into an agreement for the project in 2015, which stated that the project will be completed in six years and the land required for the project will be made available to the railway at free of cost by the State government within 30 months.
Hemant Panda, an RTI activist said, “While Odisha government is continuously shedding crocodile tears alleging that the Centre is not providing enough funds for the project, the railway has clearly stated about the State government's failure in providing the required land for the project.
As per the reports, Rs 195 crore was provided in 2015 railway budget for this project. Similarly, Rs 240 crore in 2016, Rs 700 crore in 2017, Rs 625 crore in 2018, Rs 350 crore in 2019 and Rs 520 crore was earmarked in the 2020 railway budget.
Meanwhile, the State government is hopeful of completing the land acquisition process by September 2020.
Ruling-BJD leader Ananga Udaya Singhdeo said, “Odisha government is very keen to complete the project and I hope that the acquisition process will be over by September or October this year.”
Bolangir MP Sangita Kumari Singhdeo said, “Odisha government has assured the railway to provide the land needed for the project by August 2020.”
The farmers have been demanding that their lands be acquired as per the amended Land Acquisition Act and compensation awarded accordingly.
They had first held the 'Zameen Samadhi Satyagrah' in January but called off the protest after four days as the state government assured them that it would address their concerns within 50 days.
"Twenty-one farmers, including five women, have taken Zameen Samadhi on Sunday. The protest will escalate on Monday with 51 farmers taking the Samadhi. We will continue to protest till farmers get their rights," Nagendra Singh Shekhawata, a leader of the Nindar Bachao Yuva Kisan Sangarsh Samiti, said.
The farmers had also held a protest in October 2017 against the acquisition of more than 1,300 bighas of land by the JDA, with some of them even going on a hunger strike.
The JDA has taken possession of 600 bighas of land so far and deposited Rs 60 crore in a local court as compensation. The villagers have refused to accept the amount, claiming that it is not commensurate with the prevailing market rates.
Around 10,000 houses will be built under the housing scheme which was announced in January 2011.
(PTI)