Construction of JSW Utkal Steel's plant began at Dhinkia in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district on 27 May 2026, on the land South Korea's POSCO had been promised in 2005 and never managed to use. Betel farmers in Dhinkia, Gobindpur and Nuagaon, organised as the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), held POSCO off for twelve years through police operations, a fatal bomb blast and a string of clearance disputes. POSCO offered the land back in March 2017. The state kept it and handed it to JSW.
India's biggest foreign investment, on betel and cashew land
Odisha signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with POSCO for an integrated plant of 12 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Paradeep on 22 June 2005, PTI reported PTI via Governance Now. Another PTI report gives 21 June PTI via Governance Now. Down To Earth put the cost at Rs 51,000 crore, PTI at Rs 52,000 crore, and Reuters at $12 billion. It was billed at the time as India's largest foreign investment Down To Earth Reuters via APA.
The site covered 1,620.496 hectares on the Jatadhar creek, 12 km south of Paradip port, with 1,253.225 hectares of forest land across eight villages of Erasama block PTI via Governance Now. People there grew betel vines, paddy and cashew and fished the creeks. A 2008 study commissioned by POSCO counted 3,578 families in seven villages who would lose land and 718 who would lose homes, Mongabay-India reported. Villagers said they had farmed the land for generations without title. The state said it was government land Claim · both sides Mongabay-India.
Dhinkia closes its gates
Women organised first, as the Naba Nirman Sangathan, and often outnumbered men at protests, a Down To Earth ground report found Down To Earth. The CPI-backed PPSS, headed by Abhay Sahu, became the main banner, and at times the village sealed itself to police. Opposition hardened in 2007 when demarcation started. For about three years between 2007 and 2011 Dhinkia barricaded itself, a lawyer told Mongabay-India Mongabay-India.
There was a pro-project camp too. On 20 June 2008 bombs were thrown at protesters at Patana and Tapan Mandal, a 33-year-old betel farmer, was killed. Villagers blamed pro-industry people from the village Down To Earth. We found no report of the case's outcome.
Nine dates, 2005 to 2026
MoU signed
Odisha and POSCO sign for a 12 MTPA plant PTI.
Balitutha cleared
Police remove a sit-in; at least 30 hurt PTI via The Tribune.
Conditional clearance
Jairam Ramesh attaches 60 conditions PTI.
NGT suspends clearance
Fresh review ordered PTI via Business Today.
Patana blast
Three or four PPSS members killed PTI via The Tribune.
POSCO offers land back
Minister confirms its letter Korea Times.
Lathi-charge in Dhinkia
Police break barricades for JSW land Down To Earth.
Court setbacks for JSW
NGT suspends clearance; High Court stays land alienation Mongabay-India.
Construction begins
Chief Minister attends start of work Orissa Post.
Balitutha 2010 and Gobindpur 2011
Protesters sat at Balitutha, the entry point to the site, from 26 January 2010. On 15 May about 1,500 security personnel moved in with rubber bullets, tear gas and batons. SP Debadutta Singh said police acted after 50 crude bombs were thrown at them. IG S K Upadhaya spoke of "minor injuries" and 11 arrests, and said: "Our next target is obviously Dhinkia village." PTI counted at least 30 injured PTI via The Tribune. Six parties called statewide protests PTI via The Tribune.
In June 2011 villagers formed a three-tier human barricade at Gobindpur, women and children in front, facing about 800 police. CPI MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai said people were "being beaten up, threatened and forced to receive cheque as compensation". An official called that "false and baseless", and SP Devdutt Singh said: "It is unlawful to claim ownership over government's forest land" PTI via Business Today. Acquisition stopped after a death during construction of a project road on 14 December 2011 Down To Earth.
Forest rights and the clearance fight
The Forest Rights Act of 2006 requires forest dwellers' claims to be settled before forest land is diverted. A committee under N C Saxena reported in its interim findings that this process had not gone past its initial stages in the POSCO area. On 5 August 2010 the environment ministry halted acquisition of forest land and named a panel under former environment secretary Meena Gupta PTI via Governance Now.
It split on 18 October 2010. All four members found lapses in implementing the Act. Gupta did not want to disturb the clearances. Urmila Pingle, V Suresh and Devendra Pandey wanted them revoked, citing a weak impact assessment and a faulty public hearing. POSCO denied any violation Down To Earth.
On 31 January 2011 Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh cleared the plant with 28 extra conditions and the port with 32, and asked Odisha to assure him the cultivators were not "other traditional forest dwellers". PPSS president Sahu said the Centre had bowed to "diplomatic pressure" from South Korea PTI via Governance Now. Odisha dismissed the villagers' claims, and in early May 2011 Ramesh gave final forest approval, saying "faith and trust in what the state government says is an essential pillar" Gulf Times.
On a challenge by activist Prafulla Samantara, the National Green Tribunal suspended the clearance on 30 March 2012. It noted the MoU spoke of 12 MTPA while the impact study covered 4 MTPA, and said Gupta's appointment showed "departmental bias" PTI via Business Today. The MoU had lapsed in June 2010 without renewal Down To Earth.
2013: Gobindpur and the Patana blast
Before dawn on 3 February 2013 about 400 police entered Gobindpur. SP Satyabrata Bhoi said willing sellers had asked for protection. PPSS spokesperson Prashant Paikray said police came "deceptively" at 4 am Down To Earth. The PPSS said about six people were hurt in a lathi-charge; an additional district magistrate said no force was used PTI via Business Today. On the fourth day, after schoolchildren and women joined the protest and Sahu began a hunger strike, the collector withdrew the police PTI via Governance Now.
On the evening of 2 March 2013 a blast at Patana killed PPSS members. PTI reported three dead and one critically hurt PTI via The Tribune. Down To Earth named four: Manas Jena, Narahari Sahoo, Nabanu (also reported as Tarun) Mandal and Laxman Pramanik Down To Earth. Tarun was Tapan Mandal's younger brother Down To Earth.
SP Bhoi said the men were making bombs to use against police and project supporters, and police said they recovered gunpowder. An injured man said unidentified people threw two bombs at them PTI via The Tribune. The PPSS said the target was Sahu Claim · PPSS Down To Earth. Vine demolition resumed the next day. About 5,000 people attended the cremations Times of India via India Environment Portal. On 11 May police arrested Sahu and charged him with murder and Explosive Substances Act offences over the blast Down To Earth. We found no report of the verdict.
By mid-2013 the state said it had acquired 2,700 acres after POSCO cut its first phase to 8 MTPA, a plan that left Dhinkia itself out Down To Earth Down To Earth.
Livelihood or government forest: the two positions
The PPSS
The PPSS said betel, paddy and fish fed thousands and a steel plant could not replace that. It said forest rights were never settled and gram sabhas never consented, accused police of beating women and children, and blamed project supporters for the 2008 and 2013 bombings. In 2017 Sahu claimed five people had died in the conflict, four from his side and one pro-POSCO PTI via SabrangIndia.
Police and the state
Officials said the land was government forest and only willing owners' vines were taken, with compensation Government's position PTI via Business Today. Police said they used force only after bombs were thrown. Steel minister Raghunath Mohanty said the plant would "give a new direction to industrialisation in Orissa" and opposition would be "tackled in a peaceful manner" PTI via Governance Now.
POSCO leaves, the land stays
In May 2016 Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra told the Assembly POSCO's project was on hold; POSCO had told the NGT it "cannot proceed" without land and forest clearance PTI via EPC World. In March 2017 POSCO India offered to return the land after being asked for taxes and costs of more than $10 million, though an official said it had not "completely given up" Korea Times. Some later reports date the exit to 2015 or 2016.
The PPSS asked Odisha to follow Singur and return the land, calling its move to the IDCO land bank an "infringement of law" BHRRC, quoting PPSS. Mishra said "there is a marked difference between Singur and Dhinkia", and that about 1,592 betel vines had been demolished PTI via SabrangIndia.
JSW and Dhinkia, 2019 to 2023
JSW Utkal Steel proposed a 13.2 MTPA plant with a power plant, cement unit and jetty on the same site Business Today. The Centre transferred about 1,083 hectares of forest land to it in October 2019 Mongabay-India, and the administration wanted 748 more acres inside Dhinkia gram panchayat Down To Earth.
Police entered Dhinkia on the night of 4 December 2021. The local inspector said they came to arrest men who had bombed a villager's house and were stoned by about 200 villagers, all of whom were booked BHRRC, quoting Down To Earth. Villagers said two men were arrested on false charges. Bamboo barricades went up at all three entrances, guarded day and night Mongabay-India. The state removed Debendra Swain, leader of the Jindal Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, as panchayat samiti member for "wilful abuse of power against government officials" Down To Earth.
On 14 January 2022 police broke the barricades. Down To Earth counted about 30 villagers injured; Orissa Post reported more than two dozen villagers and five police hurt Down To Earth Orissa Post. The tehsildar said at least 500 villagers, mostly women, "tried to attack the police and officials" Down To Earth. Six people, Swain among them, were arrested Down To Earth. By 7 February JSW said 822 vines had been razed and compensation paid OdishaBytes.
The Orissa High Court sent an advocates' committee. At its second meeting on 5 March, held with police deployed, about 15 of some 100 speakers opposed the project OdishaBytes. The ministry granted JSW's clearances in April 2022 OdishaBytes.
On 20 March 2023 the NGT suspended them, saying the public hearing came before the cumulative impact study. "We are conscious that the project involves huge investment. At the same time, principle of sustainable development cannot be ignored," the bench wrote Down To Earth. Four days later the High Court stayed alienation of forest land until forest rights requirements were met OdishaBytes. Swain was still jailed in an arms case though "bailed out in 43 cases", activist Sarita Barpanda said Mongabay-India. A JSW official said all but "a very selected few" locals backed the plant Christian Science Monitor.
From a foundation stone to a groundbreaking
The land was never returned. JSW Utkal took possession of 2,950.31 acres, NBM&CW reported in January 2024 NBM&CW. Its clearance was revalidated on 15 September 2023 after a Supreme Court order, according to a 2026 NGT petition that annexes the ministry's letter NGT filing.
The criminal cases are another matter. Claim · Prashant Paikray Paikray estimated in 2024 that 80 cases were pending against about 1,000 people, plus more than 400 against 2,500 people from both movements Down To Earth. A People's Commission led by retired Justice Madan Lokur had urged Odisha in 2023 to drop them PTI via Deccan Herald.
Naveen Patnaik laid the plant's foundation stone on 16 February 2024. On 27 May 2026 Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi attended the start of construction at Dhinkia and said he expected the Rs 65,000 crore plant to open in 2029. Orissa Post noted it was "the same spot" POSCO had picked Orissa Post. Majhi's office put total investment at Rs 1.25 lakh crore Odisha CMO.
In March 2026 an activist asked the NGT to cancel JSW's clearance, alleging borewell drilling despite a condition that "no ground water shall be abstracted" Claim · petitioner NGT filing. We found no ruling on it, no report on how the 2023 High Court stay was resolved, nothing on Swain's custody after 2023, and no reports of protests at the May 2026 groundbreaking.
POSCO itself is back. On 20 April 2026 it signed a 50:50 venture with JSW Steel for a 6 MTPA plant in Odisha worldsteel, worth 10.7 trillion won ($7.3 billion) IANS via OdishaBytes, on land "already secured at Paradip" Deccan Chronicle. The reports do not say whether that land is part of the old POSCO site.
Sources
- PTI via The Tribune: 30 hurt as entry to Posco plant cleared, 16 May 2010
- PTI via The Tribune: Left parties call statewide protests over Posco police action, 17 May 2010
- PTI via Governance Now: Environment committee to submit report on Posco project soon, Oct 2010
- Down To Earth: POSCO review body divided, 30 Oct 2010
- PTI via Governance Now: Posco gets conditional environmental clearance, 31 Jan 2011
- Gulf Times: Govt clears $12bn Posco steel plant in Orissa, 2 May 2011
- PTI via Business Today: Anti-Posco protest intensifies in Orissa, 12 Jun 2011
- PTI via Business Today: Green Tribunal suspends environmental clearance to Posco, 30 Mar 2012
- Down To Earth: Pre-dawn police crackdown on village at POSCO site, 4 Feb 2013
- PTI via Business Today: Posco land acquisition resumes in Odisha amid police-protesters clash, 4 Feb 2013
- PTI via Governance Now: Posco land acquisition halted for the day, police withdrawn, 6 Feb 2013
- Down To Earth: Bomb kills 4 protesters at POSCO steel project site, 3 Mar 2013
- Reuters via APA: Indian steel project protestors killed by bombs, Mar 2013
- PTI via The Tribune: Land acquisition resumes after Posco blast, 4 Mar 2013
- Times of India via India Environment Portal: Anti-Posco villagers vow to oppose plant, 5 Mar 2013
- Down To Earth: Police arrest anti-POSCO leader for bomb explosion, 15 May 2013
- Down To Earth: Will fight POSCO till last breath, 17 May 2013
- Down To Earth: Where is POSCO headed?, 26 Aug 2013
- Down To Earth: Protest against POSCO continues; farmers rebuild destroyed betel vineyards, 2 Jan 2015
- PTI via EPC World: Six industries log out of Odisha, Posco plant plan on hold, 16 May 2016
- Korea Times: POSCO's Odisha project hanging in air, 19 Mar 2017
- Business and Human Rights Resource Centre: Anti-Posco group urge govt to return acquired land, 27 Mar 2017
- PTI via SabrangIndia: Return land to villagers, PPSS demands, 3 May 2017
- Business Today: JSW Steel to acquire land in Odisha for Rs 53,000 crore project, 29 Nov 2020
- Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, quoting Down To Earth: Police file case against around 200 villagers, Dec 2021
- Down To Earth: Arrests, police crackdown raises the heat in Dhinkia, 20 Dec 2021
- Mongabay-India: Fearing repeat of police action, Odisha village isolates itself, 6 Jan 2022
- Down To Earth: After Posco, women of Dhinkia take on Jindal Steel, 8 Jan 2022
- Down To Earth: Dhinkia on the boil, Odisha Police turn violent against protestors, 14 Jan 2022
- Down To Earth: Dhinkia on the boil, opposition, rights workers stopped, 15 Jan 2022
- OdishaBytes: Betel vines demolition drive for JSW project ends, 7 Feb 2022
- Orissa Post: Group clash erupts during HC committee visit to Dhinkia, 20 Feb 2022
- OdishaBytes: Most villagers support project in meeting of HC-formed committee, 5 Mar 2022
- OdishaBytes: JSW Utkal Steel receives environmental clearance, 11 Apr 2022
- Down To Earth: Environmental clearance for JSW's Paradip project suspended by NGT, 25 Mar 2023
- OdishaBytes: HC stays forest land diversion for JSW project, 29 Mar 2023
- Mongabay-India: NGT stays environmental clearance for JSW project, 17 Apr 2023
- Christian Science Monitor: Why this Indian village has fought a steel plant for 18 years, 14 Jun 2023
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Activists urge Odisha govt to drop cases against people opposing Dhinkia steel project, 8 Oct 2023
- NBM&CW: JSW Steel acquires land for 13.2 MT integrated steel plant in Odisha, 9 Jan 2024
- Down To Earth: Dhinkia acid test for ruling BJD, 20 Apr 2024
- National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone): Original Application 70/2026/EZ, Dillip Kumar Samantaray v JSW Utkal Steel Ltd, with MoEFCC revalidation letter, 13 Mar 2026
- worldsteel: JSW Steel and POSCO form joint venture for 6 MTPA plant, 20 Apr 2026
- IANS via OdishaBytes: POSCO, JSW Steel to jointly invest $7.3 billion, 20 Apr 2026
- Deccan Chronicle: JSW Steel, POSCO to set up 6 MTPA steel plant in Odisha, 22 Apr 2026
- Orissa Post: JSW begins work on Rs 65,000 crore steel plant in Paradip, 27 May 2026
- Chief Minister's Office, Odisha: CM attends start of construction of JSW mega steel plant at Paradip, May 2026