Bhubaneswar : Posco on Tuesday assured that employment was not an issue for the local people who were willing to work, since about 25,000 people would have to be engaged for the construction of its massive 12-million-tonne-per-annum steel plant. Besides, many more commercial activities would take place in the area providing opportunities of employment and business to the local people, a company release said here on Tuesday.

Posco-India Executive Director Uma Ballav Patnaik denied reports in a section of the media that the company was not considering the demands of the Action Committee formed by villagers of the proposed project site in Jagatsinghpur district.

"We have already stated that besides complying with the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy of the State, our R&R plan will address issues of the people to be displaced from Government land, reasonable compensation to cultivators on the encroached land, fair price for the private land to be acquired, all land losing families and even landless labourers," Patnaik said.
"We have a plan to provide technical and skill up-gradation training to the affected people of the project area to enhance their employability. For computation of the exact R&R package, a socio-economic survey and demarcation of land is necessary, which the State Government is carrying out in the project area. Posco-India's mission is to build the best and most competitive steel plant in the world.