PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE
Nearly two decades after surrendering their land for a promised power project, hundreds of farmers in Odisha’s Kharagprasad region say they are still waiting, for jobs, compensation, and justice. Instead, they now find themselves at the centre of a new industrial push led by JSW Steel and POSCO, one that they allege has deepened their distress.
“We gave our land believing in development,” says a former landowner. “Today, we have neither land nor livelihood.” The original acquisition, carried out between 2008 and 2010, saw farmers part with fertile land at what they describe as “throwaway prices” of Rs 3–6 lakh per acre. The promise was clear: employment, contracts and sustained income from a large-scale power plant project by Lanco.
For a while, hope turned into reality. Villagers found work in construction, transport and supply chains. But the collapse of Lanco in 2018 brought everything to a halt. What followed has become a source of deep resentment.
In 2021, the land was auctioned by the National Company Law Tribunal to Saffron Resources, a company villagers claim they had never heard of. The sale, they allege, took place without consultation or transparency. “We were not informed. The administration was not informed. Everything happened behind closed doors,” said a local activist.
The situation escalated further when JSW Steel acquired Saffron Resources in 2025, effectively taking control of the land. The proposed Rs 35,000 crore steel project, now cleared by the state government, is projected as a major industrial boost. But on the ground, sentiment is starkly different.
Villagers allege that they have received neither fair compensation nor rehabilitation as envisioned under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, 2013, which replaced the older law under which their land was acquired.
Many also claim that promises of employment have not materialised. “Instead of jobs, we got debts,” said a former contractor who claims dues have remained unpaid since the earlier project collapsed.
Local forums have also raised concerns about procedural lapses, including discrepancies in land parcels and lack of transparent valuation during the auction process.
Meanwhile, the entry of global steel giant POSCO into the project has added another layer of complexity. While industry experts view the joint venture as a strategic move to strengthen India’s steel ecosystem, the affected communities see it differently.
“For corporates, this is investment. For us, it is survival,” said a villager. The political dimension is hard to ignore. Since the formation of the BJP government in Odisha under Mohan Charan Majhi, opposition voices and activists have alleged that industrial projects are being fast-tracked without adequately addressing local grievances.
Analysts say the broader policy push for industrialisation must be balanced with social justice. “Ignoring community concerns can lead to long-term conflict,” said an observer tracking land issues in eastern India. For now, farmers continue to wait, caught between promises of development and the reality of displacement.
