Displaced by development: case studies of posco movement of odisha, gagatsinghpur district paradeep

The controversy surrounding the POSCO project has clearly emerged as a struggle around material issues of livelihood and the economic future of local communities in coastal Jagatsinghpur and the Khandadhar hills of Keonjhar and Sundergerh. The local community in the three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and Gada Kujanga clearly see the agrarian economy, based primarily around betel vine, as one that assures them a future. However, the Government of Orissa claims that the POSCO project, among others, is a crucial part of the economic advancement of the State. Large industrial projects such as POSCO are often seen as valuable to a local economy because of the employment they generate. Both sides – those opposed to the POSCO project and those promoting it argue their positions based on claims centered around the local economy. Therefore, there is an inherent comparison that is already in place. When those promoting the project argue for it, the underlying message is always that this will benefit the local community and its economy, and therefore the fears that are being expressed are faulty. On the other hand, those opposing the project express the fear that the new economy that will be imposed on them is bound to make their lives worse.