People vs POSCO: cost of development

This piece came in 'Governance Now' on 22nd February 2013

Web Link: http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/people-vs-posco-cost-development

People vs POSCO: cost of development

Villagers against POSCO fear police excesses. They do not want to part with land but don’t know how long they will be able to hold on

PRADEEP BAISAKH | BHUBANESWAR | FEBRUARY 22 2013

Kanduri Parida of Gobindpur village where police lathicharged: Photo by Basudev Mohapatra

People in Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Patana villages, where Pohang Iron & Steel Company (POSCO) proposes to set up its steel plant, were still asleep when the police entered the area around 4 am on February 3 to acquire land for the project.

As the message spread, the unarmed villagers rushed to the strategic entry point to three villages - Balitikira - and attempted to prevent the police from entering. But the mighty 400-strong police force beat up the women and children away who were first to reach the spot. TV cameras captured how women and children were manhandled in the wee hours and one Debandra Swain was pulled by the police and arrested. As many as 25 people received minor injuries, claims the anti-POSCO organisation, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS). Eight-year-old Jagannath Dash was also hurt in the police lathicharge. Even the old people were not spared.

The district administration and officials of the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) of Odisha started dismantling the betel vines of people and acquiring land for the steel and power project by the South Korean giant. District collector Satya Kumar Mallick said that all happened “with the consent of people”. POSCO officials, part of the team formed by the collector to acquire land, were present on the spot. In the three-day operation, the administration dismantled betel vines of 51 families and gave them a sum of Rs 1.2 crore as compensation after acquiring 250 acres of land, says the collector.

And people who ‘acquiesced’ for giving their land did so out of fear. “I had gone to my betel vine. They asked me time and again if I agreed to give my land for the project. I had never seen so many police in my life. I nodded my head out of fear,” says a grieving Ranjan Parida. “How will we live now,” asks her mother Kanduri.

The proposal for the steel and power plant, tipped to be the biggest FDI in India, was inked in June 2005. The company required 4,004 acres of land from the panchayats of Dhinkia, Gada Kujang and Nuagaon gram panchayats of Kujang tehsil under Jagatsingpur district. The project has not seen the light of the day to date due to the fierce opposition from the locals.

There have been instances of bloodbath between the police and the people on many occasions. But neither the government nor the people relented. In a typical state-corporate nexus, false cases were clamped against the protesting individuals and were indiscriminately arrested. PPSS leader Abhay Sahoo was arrested twice and jailed for nearly two years. Various criminal cases have been clamped by the police against 1,500 villagers of Dhinkia panchayat. 

With prime minister Manmohan Singh’s blessings, the Naveen Patnaik government of Odisha has stretched itself too far to grab land for the foreign company. Pressure is also mounting from the South Korean government. During the recent visit of South Korean knowledge and economy minister Sukwoo Hong, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma assured him saying that “the PM was monitoring the project.”

Odisha health minister Damodar Rout says, “It is the government land and government is taking it. People are encroachers. We are giving adequate compensation to them.”

Whose land is it?For its 12 million tonne per annum (mtpa) plant POSCO needed 4,004 acres of land, of which 2,900 acres is forest land and the rest is private land. However, it has later scaled down its demand to 2,700 acres and capacity to 8 mtpa. As many as 2,000 acres have been already acquired by the state from Nuagaon and Gada Kujang panchayats. For the rest, 700 acres, they are eying Gobindpur village.

Under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, no diversion of land use can take place till the process of providing individual and community claims are settled. The law also says favourable palli sabha (village assemblies) and gram sabha resolutions are needed to divert forest land. The government claimed that there are no tribals in the area. But Census 2001 shows the presence of 23 tribals in Polang village under Gada Kujang Panchayat. Later, though the government admitted the presence of tribals in the area owing to the findings of the Meena Gupta committee, it hoodwinked saying “there are no tribals in the proposed project sites.”

The government does not consider anyone staying there as ‘other traditional forest dwellers’ (OTFDs) under the law. OTFDs are those who have been living in forest for three generations or approximately 75 years. But the government argues that the area was declared as forest in 1961 and so there is no question of presence of any OTFDs. Therefore, forest rights settlement is not needed, and all land belongs to the government.

A Survey of India map of 1928 suggests the existence of betel vines there. Legal opinion does not buy the government’s argument. The palli sabhas of Dhinkia and Gobindpur have passed resolution thrice in last three years opposing forest land diversion. Yet, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) accorded the final forest clearance to the project in May 2011. It was contested in the Odisha high court, but it denied staying the process of acquisition of forest land, though it stayed acquiring the private land. “However both the NC Saxena and Meena Gupta committees which were asked to examine various aspects of legality of the project acknowledged that the due process under the FRA was not complete,” says environmentalist and forest rights expert Sweta Mishra.

Governance process affected People have paid the price for their protests. Postal service has been discontinued in Dhinkia panchayat for the last five years as the then post master Babaji Samantray was suspended for his involvement in anti-POSCO movement. People are forced to go to the Kujang post office to get their letters, including UID cards. However, government programmes like PDS, aanganwadis and schools function as usual, says Arun Parida, a local journalist. Sarpanch Sisir Mohapatra was suspended as he convened the gram sabha that passed resolution opposing the project. The panchayat is now run by the naib sarpanch. “But in case of any injury or ailment we are unable to go out of the panchayat to the nearest hospital as the police would arrest us. Babuli Rout was arrested before two months when he had gone to market,” says Manorama Khatua of Dhinkia.

Policeraj continuesThere was hue and cry by all political parties except the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) against the police operation. Leaders of the Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM, Forward Block, SP, RJD and Aam Admi Party supported the protesters in the demonstrations against the government.

Despite suspension of the project’s environment clearance by the National Green Tribunal and non-renewal of the MoU, the government continues to acquire land intimidating people, alleged international human rights bodies in letters to the PM and the CM. Even though the process is currently halted owing to widespread opposition, about 15-20 police official are camping in the Gobindpur village.

“As a result, the villagers against whom false cases are pending can’t stay in the village for fear of getting arrested,” alleges Prashant Paikray of the anti-POSCO outfit. As the state assembly session is on, the administration maintains a low profile in the area. “But the land acquisition will resume soon,” maintains Vishal Dev, chairman and managing director of IDCO.
 

We will give a political alternative: Arvind Kejriwal

This piece came i n Open Democracy, a UK based journal on 8th March 2013 

Link: http://www.opendemocracy.net/openindia/pradeep-baisakh/we-will-give-people-political-alternative-interview-with-arvind-kejriwal

PRADEEP BAISAKH, 8 March 2013 

Arvind Kejriwal was considered to be the chief architect of the Anna movement against corruption that has shaked India for two years. Now Kejriwal has launched a political party, namely Aam Admi Party (AAP) to contest elections. 

The anti-corruption movement led by Kisan Baburao Hazare popularly known as 'Anna Hazare' in April 2011 under the banner of ‘India against Corruption’ (IAC) shook the whole nation beginning with India’s establishment. The movement demanded the passage of an anti-graft law, Jan Lokpal (Jan Lokpal is an Ombudsman-like institution addressing corruption in public life). Common people flocked in large numbers to support the movement which spread throughout the country. The astounding success of the movement in its initial days is at least comparable to the rise of the movement of Jayprakash Narayan (popularly known as the JP) against what was termed the autocratic rule of the then Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, or V P Singh’s tirade against the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s alleged involvement in the Bofors defense scam in the late 80s (charges quashed by the Delhi High Court in February 2004). Arvind Kejriwal, trusted follower of Anna, was said to be the chief architect of the movement. A Gandhian social activist and a meticulous strategist, he has had many successes in his career. A former Indian Revenue Service officer, he received the Raman Magasaysay award for emergent leadership in 2006 for his work on the right to information in Delhi. Now the anti-corruption movement has turned political. The group has formed a political party in November 26, 2012 to contest elections though Anna Hazare has distanced himself from the party.

Pradeep Baisakh: Now that you have formed a political party, namely the ‘Aam Admi Party (AAP)’, what’s the road ahead? What you want to achieve from this that you could not do during your earlier movement against corruption? 

Arvind Kejriwal: Current politics is dominated by a ‘high command’ culture. All members of Parliament (MPs) have to obey the decision of these commands from on high. Only eighteen people really rule the country them. Not surprisingly, the people’s voice has no opportunity whatsoever to be heard. Our vision of alternative politics is complete decentralisation. People will select candidates and people will decide on laws and policies. Our idea of ‘Gram Swaraj’(village self rule) is a decentralised politics where people are the source of authority, not those who command from on high. 

PB: What will be the structure of the party?

AK: We are forming district and state committees consisting of local India Against Corruption (IAC) leaders and student leaders, spokesmen for the farmers, tribal leaders, dalit (scheduled caste) leaders, minority leaders, women leaders, doctors, lawyers, unemployed youths and others who have good reputation. This committee will then identify volunteers in every village of the state. We will stand candidates in all the parliamentary constituencies in the 2014 general election.

PB: You say so much about Swaraj. What is your definition of Swaraj?

AK: It is about common people deciding their own fate, their developmental plans sitting in Gram Sabhas (open meeting of villagers above 18 years of that village) and Mahola Sabhas (open meeting all people above 18 years living in that area). Plans will be prepared by these general bodies of people not in Delhi or state capitals.

PB: Can you think of any movement which is similar to your vision of alternative politics?

AK: As I said, it is basically a decentralised politics. Nothing can be a carbon copy.

But one has to learn from several other countries. There have been several examples. Switzerland has provisions of right to recall. The United States has taken great measures; many European countries have an equivalent. It existed in ancient India. Mahatma Gandhi always stressed the need for bottom-up politics. He wanted a democracy without political parties. 

PB: Who is your support base? Will you not require money to fight elections?

AK: The people at large are our support base. The candidates who will contest the elections will be chosen by people in that constituency. These candidates will not go to the Parliament or Assembly for their own gains in power but to serve people. The candidates will not have any red light cars, will not have any MP or MLA (Member of Legislative Assemblies) quota, and will be staying in a one-room flat, not in multi-crore (one crore is 10 million) bungalows. Honesty and simple living will be their hallmark. If people themselves campaign for the candidate chosen by them, we will not need any money to fight the elections. If people do not campaign for us, then we don’t need to be in politics at all.

PB: Do you think you will be able to cope with the ‘power politics’ prevailing today which needs muscle and that in turn requires money? 

AK: We will have to change all that. Ours will be an andolan (struggle), not a typical political party like we have so many proliferating today. It is all about people’s politics, not power politics.

PB: People say you are not a team person. Many of your friends from the formation of IAC have deserted you. And, finally Anna Hazare has also distanced himself. How will you succeed in achieving your maiden goal if you cannot get along with leaders?

AK: I do not agree with your statement. Our ways must be different but our end goal is the same - i.e. to remove corruption from India. As a journalist you are making efforts through your writings, similarly Annaji has chosen the path of andolan and I have chosen the path of politics. Annaji is my Guru and I have learnt a lot from him.  

PB: You have brought corruption charges against Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Ms Sonia Gandhi, the Chairperson of the ruling establishment, Nitin Gadkari, former President of BJP, the principal opposition party and against the NGO run by the wife of Salman Khursid, the then law minister. Where do these charges lead? Nothing has happenedas a result, indeed Salman Khursid has been elevated to foreign minister?

AK: Our main motive behind exposing Robert Vadra, Nitin Gadkari, Salman Khurshid and other was to bring these issues in front of the people. The people of this country have the right to know how different political parties are looting the nation. The people of this country are now awakened. The next elections will not merely be the occasion for elections; they will be a sampoorna kranti (total revolution).   

PB: You have alleged that the current and earlier governments were involved in favouritism to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd in allotting the KG basin for gas exploration. What you would do about this crony capitalism if AAP comes to power? 

AK: All this has happened only because of lack of transparency and centralization of power. We have entered politics not to come to power, but to change the way politics is done currently i.e. by decentralizing the power and giving it in the hands of Aam Aadmi (common man). 

PB: Why do you think your last fast in Jantar Mantar in July 2012 received a far less enthusiastic response than the earlier ones?

AK: Even though people have faith in Anna’s leadership, people are no longer convinced that the protest or the fasting will yield any real results. It was clear that pressure from outside Parliament will not secure Jan Lokpal as none of the parties including the ruling Congress, and principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) want a strong ant-graft law. All of them are up their necks in corruption. The movement has to go inside Parliament. 

PB: What are the prospects for the Jan Lokpal now? 

AK: Jan Lokpal will come. This is basically a one-way journey to Jan Lokpal. Because none of these parties are willing to give us Jan Lokpal, this movement must go to the Parliament and pass the Jan Lokpal bill. 

PB: On Anna’s fight against corruption, P Sainath, Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu and Magsaysay award winner said that it is an attempt to check the flow of water when all the taps open. He meant that you are not addressing the sources or root causes of corruption. How do you respond to that? 

AK: What are the sources of corruption?

PB: He was basically implying that you have not taken a stand on the neoliberal economy. He may have other arguments as well, such as structural inequalities like caste, class and regional inequalities, together with the economic policy decisions taken in last twenty years and the culture of arbitrariness.

AK: There are many reasons for corruption. What he says is right and all this needs to be tackled. Our entire movement was geared to demanding a Jan Lokpal bill in order to begin to create some sort of deterrence against corruption. We never took the position that a Jan Lokpal law would sweep away all types of corruption. Many steps still need to be taken to end corruption. Neo-liberal policies are not the sole reason by any means. 

PB: But the fact is that the quantum of corruption has been multiplying since a neoliberal economy was set in place. The Bofors scam amounted to about $10.8 million (INR 60 crore) and now we have the 2G spectrum scam which concerns $36 billion (INR 2 lakh crore) and a Coalgate scam worth $33.6 billion (INR 1.86 lakh crore), to cite a few examples?

AK: I completely agree.

PB: So why haven’t you taken a stand against the neo-liberal economy? Are you frightened of losing middle class support, when it is the middle class who make up your base, and the middle class (along with the upper class) who have benefited from these policies? 

AK: I never said that we cannot take a stand against neo-liberal policies. Our campaign was for the Jan Lokpal bill. We are not obliged to take a stand on everything at once. 

PB: But now that you have entered into politics, will you take a public stand on this? 

AK: We are creating a platform for discussion on several fronts and we will take all these issues to the public. Moreover, we would like public discussion take place on all these issues.

PB: There are waves of policies which legitimate the transfer of natural resources like land, water, forest to the private companies and multi-multinationals in the name of public interest. Many say that hardly any public interest is served by this. What do you have to say on this? 

AK: That’s wrong. That has to stop.

PB: You have demanded a right of recall and a right to reject. What’s your stand on other important reform proposals – for example on electoral reforms like ‘state funding of elections’?

AK: We had four demands. Jan Lokpal, right to recall, right to reject and Gram Swaraj (village self rule). We are open to various ideas of electoral reform. Let suggestions come in and let the people debate them. 

PB: Do you want to be the Prime Minster of the country? 

AK: Positions are not important for us, issues are. I am not fighting this battle to be the Prime Minister but to address various issues plaguing the nation and the people.

(Acknowledgement: This is an updated version of the interview carried in Orissa Diary on September 20, 2012.)

Forcing The Way For POSCO

This piece came in Tehelka magazine Feb 16, 2013 

Link: http://tehelka.com/forcing-the-way-for-posco/

Clashes may have temporarily halted the process, but pressure is mounting on the state to acquire land for the $12 billion steel project. Pradeep Baisakh reports

AT 4 AM on Sunday, 3 February, nearly 400 policemen surrounded the entry points to the villages of Gobindpur and Dhinkia in the Jagatsingpur district of Odisha. The two villages are among the last hurdles to the steel major POSCO’S $12 billion project in the state. As dawn broke, the police lathicharged the villagers who had gathered at the spot, injuring over 25, mostly women and children. However, the land acquisition was stalled on 7 February, following mounting criticism of the police action.

This was the latest in the Odisha government’s attempts to restart work on the mega steel project that has met stiff public opposition in the state, since its inception in 2005. The government’s move came less than a week after South Korean Minister of Knowledge Economy Hong Suk-woo ‘categorically’ asked India to sort out the hurdles in the way of the project.

After initial obstacles in the land acquisition process, POSCO had scaled down its demand from 4,000 acres to 2,700 acres. The government acquired 2,000 acres between 2005 and 2011. The remaining 700 acres have to be acquired from Gobindpur and Dhinkia villages — mostly forested areas. Despite the village councils passing resolutions under the Forest Rights Act to not hand over any land for industrial purposes, the villagers allege that the government has been attempting to take the land by force. Soon after the district administration declared it would acquire the remaining 700 acres, the residents of the two villages started protesting on 14 January.

“Children were kicked around like footballs by the police and some even got hit by lathis,” says Prashant Paikray, spokesperson for an anti-POSCO outfit. Although the government claimed that the land acquisition, which started earlier this month, was peaceful, television footage showed state officials, including Land Acquisition Officer Sangram Mohapatra, hitting protesters with lathis.

The police action came as a surprise early on 3 February, though tension had been prevailing in the area for the past 20 days when about 200 policemen, later increased to 400, were stationed near the POSCO transit camp, 2 km away from Gobindpur village.

After dispersing the protesters, the police entered Gobindpur village and started destroying the betel vines, before going on a manhunt for anti-POSCO leaders like Abhaya Sahu and Manorama Khatua of the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS).

According to SK Mallick, the district magistrate, “The land acquisition is continuing peacefully. The allegation of use of force is false. We just made our way to the villages to clear the betel vines of the people who are willing to leave the encroached government land and take compensation.” In three days, the government has cleared 40 betel vines and given a compensation of Rs 89 lakh.

Contrary to the government’s claim, Sabita Bardhan of Gobindpur village says, “They dismantled my betel vine against my wishes. I have not received any compensation and I will not accept it, even if they offer me any.” Dillip Parida, who received a compensation of Rs 2.27 lakh, says, “We have no options. In any case, they would have dismantled our vines. It is better that we take compensation and give away our land.”

An atmosphere of fear has been created by heavy deployment of police force.

Even though Bibhu Prasad Tarai, MP of Jagatsingpur, was present at the protest site on 3 February, and got a promise from the district magistrate for withdrawal of forces, the acquisition continued the following day under police watch. With no political leader seen in the village at the time of the alleged ‘forced-acquisition’, villagers claim they saw no option but to accept the inevitable. And an unrelenting DM claimed, “We have identified 400 betel vines to be cleared.”

Meanwhile, Ho Chan Ryu, Deputy Managing Director of POSCO-India says, “Our principles do not allow us to acquire land against the wishes of the people. To my knowledge, the people are willingly giving their land.”

Indeed, some people from Gobindpur did willingly give away their land and took compensation, though they are clueless about their future livelihood. Their hopes are pinned on the promise of jobs in the POSCO plant. The government has also promised to give Rs 2,250 every month as a stipend to the families until POSCO gives them a job. But the prospect seems unlikely, considering similar promises never materialised for the people in Gadakujang and Nuagaon panchayats who had earlier surrendered their land for the project.

While the people from Gadakujang and Nuagaon have given away their land and recieved compensation, the people from Gobindpur and Dhinkia villages have thwarted the administration’s attempt to acquire land. In May 2011, the locals resisted attempts to take over land with heavy deployment of police force by forming a human barricade, with children forming the front row lying down on the sand, followed by women, the elderly and men.

While the latest assault has been condemned by political parties in the state, Damodar Rout, minister for health and family welfare, says, “The POSCO project is for the benefit of the people. People want it. But some political parties with vested interests are opposed to it. After all, this is government land that the people have encroached upon. The government is taking its own land and yet giving compensation to the people. There is nothing unlawful about it.”

The use of force against unarmed people for land acquisition was condemned by the Opposition, including the Congress, BJP, CPI, SP, Forward Bloc, RJD and other parties. Jual Oram of the BJP says, “We condemn the use of force on people and the illegal land acquisition process.” Prasad Harichandan, senior leader and chief whip of the Congress party in the state, says, “The police atrocities on the women and children are uncalled for. The state administration must reach out to the people and resolve the issues.”

AS The fate of the project hangs in uncertainty with the environmental clearance suspended by the National Green Tribual in March 2012, the MoU signed between the state and POSCO, which expired in June 2011 is yet to be renewed.

Following the South Korean minister’s remarks, Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had informed the Koreans that the prime minister was personally monitoring the project. With pressure mounting on the state, the government was forced to send the police force to the area.

Basudev Mahapatra, a local journalist, says, “The CPI, which has provided leadership to the anti-POSCO movement, could have salvaged the situation. Even though it is an ally of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), in a similar situation in May 2011, it had threatened to sever its ties with the BJD, and the government relented. But recently, the party declared its intention to contest the 2014 election as BJD’s ally. That could be the reason why the government dared to use force against people in Dhinkia.”

Abhaya Sahu says, “The government’s claim that the people are willingly giving land is false. I have signatures of 400 families from Gobindpur village who are not willing to cede their land.”

The leadership of the PPSS has decided that people will go in large numbers to the spot where betel vines are being destroyed and sit in protest. With things hotting up in the area, the road for confrontation between the protesters and the government seems to be opening wide.

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