The Jagatsinghpur district administration in Odisha is resorting to persistent police brutality to stifle voices opposing a mega steel project coming up in the area, human rights groups said on Friday.
The allegations come close on the heels of JSW Utkal Steel Limited (JUSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW Steel Limited, receiving the environmental clearance (EC) from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for setting up a greenfield integrated steel plant of 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of crude steel.
According to the company, capital expenditure on the steel plant project is expected to be ₹65,000 crore, including associated facilities. The phase-wise work for the project would start once the land was handed over to the company by the Government of Odisha, JUSL has said.
Though the company said the EC was accorded after successful public hearings, activists allege the clearance was secured by adopting fraudulent means.
The project has been embroiled in controversy due to stiff opposition to it by residents of Dhinkia village, which is situated close to project site. Villagers say the project will spell doom for their livelihoods and cause pollution in the area.
Addressing a press conference here, Prafulla Samantara, recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, said the Jagatsinghpur police administration had unleashed a reign of terror as Dhinkia residents mustered courage to protest a polluting project in their vicinity. “There are allegations of persistent police brutality, harassment and misconduct in Dhinkia,” Mr. Samantra said.
“Debendra Swain, who led a people’s movement against the steel project, was arrested soon after the police and villagers clashed on January 14. He has been booked in 26 different fabricated cases. Moreover, he has not been allowed to talk to his family members from judicial custody since March 3,” said Narendra Mohanty, who has also been sent to jail for participating in protests against the project.
“There has been a systematic effort to dissuade people from participating in any demonstration against the company. During the past couple of months, the police have been targeting people associated with the struggle against the steel project. In the last panchayat elections, the ruling party’s leader lost the election miserably in Dhinkia, which indicates that people have not endorsed the project,” he added.
Veteran journalist and human rights activist Rabi Das said the government must withdraw false cases slapped against Mr. Swain and other Dhinkia residents.
Activists have also reiterated their demand for a complete withdrawal of the project from the region.
JUSL is also establishing a steel project near Paradip, where South Korean steel major POSCO had proposed a steel plant in 2005. However, the POSCO project was shelved as land acquisition could not be completed due to stiff resistance from local people.
