Update from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, September 4

Our villagers are continuing the protest against forceful land acquisition process for settling up POSCO steel plant at the Govindpur Village boarder. In the adjacent village Nuagaon also, around 100 villagers are sitting on daily basis in protest against the forceful land acquisition process. Meanwhile the government is carrying out tree cutting activities at Nuagoan village. The government is targeting to cut over 6,00,000 trees which include about three lakh casuarina and many horticultural plants.

On 22st August 2011, Mr. Abhina Rout, PPSS leader of Nuagoan village and Mr. Sadashiva Das, state committee member of SUCI (Communist) was arrested. They were put under some false charges and sent to Kujang jail. We request you to kindly condemn this unwarranted arrest of our leaders.
On 26th of August 2011, we organized a convention at our dhrana place on the draft National Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation And Resettlement Bill. As you know the Union ministry of Rural Development has sought public opinion on this. The anti-displacement struggle groups and civil society members across Odisha like social activist Prafulla Samantara, Lingaraj of Samajwadi Janaparishad, Pradeep Purohit of Gandhamardan Surakshya Samiti and former legislator Bijay Nayak participated in the discussion and express their solidarity with our movement.
They have emphasized the need for a joint struggle by all the struggle groups opposing land acquisition for industries in different parts of the State to oppose acquisition of agricultural land and forest land that were being used by the locals as source of livelihoods. It was also decided that Padyatras would be taken out from different places in this month to culminate in a massive rally in our villages to oppose land acquisition for the project.
In the convention it was demanded that
1. The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 that was in force till date has become obsolete. Hence it should be immediately scrapped.
2. The proposed land acquisition law should have provisions to prohibit acquisition of agricultural land as well as forest land that was the source of livelihood for the local communities.
3. Agricultural land that had been acquired for different industries in the past but had not utilised for the purpose so far should be restored to the original owners.
4. Land acquired for different projects by use of force should be restored to the original owners.
5. No industrial infrastructure should come up on fertile agriculture land or any land providing a mode of livelihood to people.
6. People should consent and should be taken into confidence before they are displaced to accommodate either government or private projects. Through Palli sabha (village body), their consent has to be ratified. People depend on single crop for livelihood. Such sing crop pattern land should be kept away from the gamut of industrial land acquisition.
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