143 families displaced by Paradip refinery project

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar, July 27: A total of 143 families were identified by the district administration as displaced families in the IOCL’s Paradip oil refinery project in Odisha, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.Out of 143 families, till date, 94 families have taken cash compensation (through District Administration) in lieu of engagement/employment and 49 have kept their option for preference in employment.Out of this 49, 35 families are presently engaged in project/maintenance jobs, he said.Further, as per approved Rehabilitation & Resettlement plan, for Paradip Refinery Project in 2002, there is provision of preference in engagement for identified displaced families, who have not taken cash compensation in lieu of employment.However, there is no such provision for landloosers.Engagement Status: Presently total 88 nominated members of displaced families have been engaged in the project/maintenance job, Pradhan said in his reply.Funds allocated and utilised: An amount of Rs.371.10 lakh was allocated, out of which Rs.323.78 lakh was spent by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Paradip Refinery for implementation of Rehabilitation & Resettlement Plan-2002, which includes cash compensation in lieu of employment, training to nominated members of displaced family, development of Resettlement colony etc.Out of the above approved amount, Rs.136.50 lakh has been spent by IOCL, Paradip Refinery, towards paying the cash compensation to displaced families, through District Administration.Engagement: Out of 49 displaced families, who have kept their option for preference in employment, 35 have already been engaged. Out of the remaining 14 displaced families, 63 members of 11 families have been trained by IOCL through ITIs for skill development in various trades.Cash Compensation: 94 of the 143 displaced families have opted for cash compensation in lieu of employment, as per approved Rehabilitation & Resettlement Plan-2002.An amount of Rs.87.84 lakh has been paid to these families, according to a PIB release.Even as the oil refinery project has been rescheduled for December, 2015 commissioning deadline, the project-affected locals recently staged a noisy demonstration in front of the Jagatsinghpur District Collector’s office alleging that the oil company had failed to rehabilitate the displaced and land-losers’ families in accordance to rules and guidelines framed in this regard.