Rajya Sabha member and Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) president Pyarimohan Mohapatra urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a letter on Saturday not to allow Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status to Posco as it would be an undue benefit to the South Korean company in a renewed Memorandum of udrstanding (MoU).
Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) president Pyarimohan Mohapatra said that there was no justification to allow a captive port for Posco and, that too, within a short distance of eight km from the Paradip Port.
He requested Chief Minister Patnaik to withdraw the clause from the proposed renewed MoU and advise the company to negotiate with the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) for necessary facilities.
He further suggested that since no steel company has been allotted a specific quantity of iron ore in their MoUs, the provision for allocation of 600 million tonnes of iron ore to Posco may be replaced by the standard clause used in other MoUs.
“In the renewed MoU, please ensure that there is a clause for technology transfer, as otherwise the benefit of the FDI is not going to percolate on a long-term basis,” Pyarimohan Mohapatra said.
He demanded that the State Government add a provision in the renewed MoU to create at least one lakh employment opportunities by Posco by facilitating establishment of micro, small and medium industries by entrepreneurs of the State.
Mohapatra also suggested that the State Government set up a commission to go into the complaints of excessive use of force and human abuse by the Government officials dealing with the Posco project-affected people and also urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to ensure first-rate rehabilitation facilities for the displaced people.