Why POSCO type projects are unwanted?
Dear Friends,
We just
returned from a trip of the Dhinkia-Nuagaon area where people, for seven years
now, are democratically fighting against the illegal POSCO project that
continues to destroy the local economy and ecology even without having a valid
MoU with the state government. The people
in the village are virtually living a life of ‘exclusion’ from the mainstream
as their ‘democratic protest for their just right’ has invited the ire of their
own government for profit of a Foreign Company.
They fear to come out of the village even when they are ill because,
according to them, both the police and company goons are waiting to nab them waiting
to grab them, book them under false charges (which many of them are already
facing), arrest them, beat them up and all the ‘hell’ they had never expected
in this ‘Independent’ country of theirs. They live under the reign of terror and
for them the State is a Terrorist outfit.
I have
decided to put this up for members of the groups because some members of this e-group
(as well as other e-groups in which I am a member) seem to be disillusioned
about the ‘real development’ and have been blindly promoting the cause of
Vedanta and POSCO type of industrialization. True, from this kind of
destructive industrialization, their types of 'educated' and greedy people will
get huge benefits - as the case has been historically - but only at the cost of
the environment, local people and entrepreneurs.
In case of
POSCO for example, the beetle farmers are enterprising farmers and not only
earn handsomely but also pay the labour they engage, almost twice and thrice
than even the minimum stipulated wage rate of the government. Most importantly they hold on to the mother
land, protect the forests that gives them the required ingredients for their
economy to thrive as well as help the coastal ecology to maintain its necessary
ecological balance. Most importantly,
development this way means development of all in the locality.
On the other
hand, what POSCO will do? It will destroy
the ecology (as you know how trees are the first victim of the arrogant and
abusive industrialization being promoted in that area); it will displace the
local people by paying them some 'cash' compensation which will mostly help
them to become wage labourers and later paupers; it will benefit the rich and
the elite and most importantly the bureaucrats, political parties and criminals
like Bapi Sarkhel to flourish.
Development here is centralized and is not distributive at all.
I am sure,
some so called 'development pundits' in this group, who term everyone who
oppose POSCO type projects as anti-development, will have the guts to
understand the basics of economics and ecology and will dare to have a vision
beyond two-three decades (when all the mineral wealth of this state would be
over - partly by legal extraction and mostly by theft). Just for your ready reference, pasting below
a latest news from the POSCO area, published in the Hindu today.
Thanks and
regards
Ranjan Panda
======
Betel farmers
turn daily wagers
SATYASUNDAR
BARIK
Their vineyards were demolished for
Posco project
Kabir Pradhan, a betel farmer, now
considers him lucky as he did not sway with ‘majoritarian' sentiment in his
Nuagaon village. The betel farmer had refused to accept compensation for
allowing his vineyard to be pulled down.
In fact Kabir's vineyard is the only
one of 438 betel vine enclosures left to be demolished in Nuagaon, a part of
which is to be acquired for the proposed mega steel mill by South Korean Posco.
“As many as 12 vineyard owners, who
got richer by few lakhs of rupees after receiving compensation from
administration a couple of months ago, now work under me. Had I agreed to
administration's proposal and given up the right over my vineyard, I would have
met the same fate,” said Kabir.
Most of the betel farmers of Nuagaon
village whose vineyards were razed to ground have spent the compensation money
within few months. They have now turned daily wage earners from being proud
owners of betel farms.
“Two of my brothers opted for
compensation and handed over their vineyards to administration. Now, one of
them is an agricultural labour and another is on his way to spend the
compensation money,” Kabir said.
Sudhir Dalei, a former betel farmer
of Nuagaon, had invested the compensation money in purchasing a pick-up van.
With no previous experience in passenger car business, Sudhir failed to extract
profit from his new venture. “I failed to pay this month's instalment of the
car loan. I don't know what would happen in future,” he said.
“All of my fellow betel farmers,
Sukuta Nayak, Tima Pradhan, Dolagobinda Sahu, Jagabandhu Pradhan, Abhi Jena,
Ramesh Khuntia and Nistur Rout, had betel vineyards. Now they look for
engagement on daily basis to eke out their livelihood,” said Kabir, who claimed
to earn profit of Rs. 20,000 per month from his farm.
The administration had announced
compensation of Rs. 11.5 lakh per acre of vineyard and 20 per cent of the
compensation for daily labourers who would be rendered jobless. Total 1,503
betel farmers from six villages such as Nuagaon, Polang, Noliasahi, Gobindpur,
Bhuyanpal and Bayanalakandha were to lose their vineyards. Jagatsinghpur
district administration estimated that 253 acres land would be made
encroachment free if vineyards were pulled down.
“This is a classic case how situation
can quickly turn worse when government displace people from resource-based
livelihood. Gullible villagers cannot thrive on a cash-based livelihood
sources. The sooner the government understands this, the better off the
farmers' condition will be,” said Ranjan Panda, a social activist.
Kabir reiterated his pledge to oppose
land acquisition for facilitating mega steel plant near his village.
· Many of them have squandered the
compensation money
· Kabir Pradhan is the only farmer who
refused to accept compensation
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