BHUBANESWAR: Even though the South Korean steel major Posco has started showing signs of impatience over the delay in the implementation of its proposed project in Jagatsinghpur district, the State Government has decided to adopt a cautious approach. “We believe in peaceful industrialisation in the State. Therefore, one has to be cautious,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told mediapersons here on Saturday in response to a question on the recent remark of Posco-India chairman-cum-managing (CMD) Yong-Won Yoon. The Chief Minister said the Posco project, estimated at Rs 52,000 crore, is the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. He said the police are doing their best to ensure peaceful implementation of the project. The Jagatsinghpur district administration is also doing its duty of maintaining peace in the areas, he said. The police had prevented Posco bosses from holding a seminar at Nuagaon, located in the proposed plant site, on March 1 and asked them to shift the venue to Paradip. Though the State Government had asked Posco to hold the seminar in the State capital, the company had insisted to conduct it at Nuagaon, prompting police to vacate them from there.Tension prevailed in the project area since one person had died following a clash during construction of coastal road linking Posco’s plant site to the port town of Paradip on December 14. All works, including ground levelling and tree felling, remained suspended in view of the volatile situation. Police had earlier restricted entry of foreigners, mainly South Koreans, to the proposed plant site for security reasons. However, the company had been seeking lifting of ban to ensure supervision of work at the proposed plant site.Though the State Government signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Posco-India in 2005, the project could not start even after seven years due to opposition from the locals.
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