A betel vine farmer at a village near the proposed Posco land. Telegraph picture

Paradip, Sept. 30: Land acquired for Posco steel project near Paradip is back in the news. Many villagers have reoccupied land meant for the project and are growing betel. Police have registered 32 cases against the encroachers of the land that now belongs to the steel company.

Criminal cases have been registered against the occupiers under various provisions of the penal code and Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment Act (OPLE), said an official.

Ersama tehsildar Sarat Kumar Purohit said: “Company officials had informed us regarding the encroachment issue. As the re-occupation of the reclaimed land is an act of illegality. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the occupiers.”

“Rebuilding betel vines amounts to forceful land grabbing and breach of law. Officials have been directed to demolish the rebuilt vineyards,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallik.

To make matters worse, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which is busy spearheading a movement against the land acquisition has appealed to villagers to forcefully take back the land for cultivation purpose, even though they have been compensated.

“Villagers of Polang under Gadakuganga gram panchayat have reoccupied the land to cultivate betel. People here are left with no avenues for a livelihood after the government razed down their betel vines,” said spokesman for PPSS, Prasant Paikray. Of the 2700-acre land acquired for the steel project, more than 350 acres has been re-occupied. Betel vineyards have been raised in the re-occupied land, claimed PPSS activists adding that more land would be occupied in the coming days.

The state government on its part had completed the acquisition procedure for the steel unit on July 3 last year. Since then the project work has failed to make much headway. Construction of a boundary wall had to be stalled following protests from the villagers.

There are reports of extensive betel cultivation in Noliasahi, Polang, Nuagaon and Gobindpur villages coming under the proposed steel project, said officials. “It’s an unlawful and arbitrary practice. The villagers have already been paid compensation against the demolition of their vineyards,” said a company official.