Jajpur: The district administration’s move to hand over 69.98 acres of forest land to Visa Steel at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district without conducting a Pallisabha has raised eyebrows.
Even then Jakhpura Sarpanch is learnt to have not handed over a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the steel firm for acquisition of the jungle land.
This has triggered tension in the area as the residents demanded a high-level probe into the incident to unravel truth. The matter came to fore after this correspondent conducted an inquiry and Jakhpura panchayat officials.
Rules were bent to hand over the land to the steel firm as the administration and middlemen connived to give shape to this. The administration even defied the Orissa Land Reforms Act while acquiring the land of Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribe residents in the region.
In a bid to receive higher compensation some officials and middlemen connived with each other to purchase land from tribals and poor people at a throwaway price. These lands were later acquired by IDCO which handed it over to Visa Steel for establishment of the plant. But the compensation was grabbed by these administrative officials and middlemen.
Sources said Idco identified 512.902 acres of land and handed them over to the Visa Steel at a price of Rs 10, 82, 43 during 2004 -2011 out of which 69.98 acres of land were acquired without conducting any Pallisabha.
The steel firm without going for Pallisabha acquired these lands and even did not think of obtaining a no-objection certificate from then Jakhpura Sarpanch.
When contacted, then sarpanch Ramesh Sethi said no Pallisabha was conducted before handing over the land to the company.
Present sarpanch Pushpakanta Nayak claimed that the steel firm did not obtain an NOC while acquiring the land and demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter. PNN
