Orissa to take suitable action on Ramesh's order on POSCO

Orissa government on Monday said it would take ''appropriate action'' on Posco project after receiving the order of Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) which accorded final approval for forest land diversion for the proposed mage steel unit.

"We are yet to receive the order. We have just learnt from the media that such an order has been passed. When we receive the order, appropriate action will be taken," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters.

Orissa Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout, MLA from the proposed plant site area for about 35 years, welcomed the MoEF order saying it would help in setting up the Rs 52,000 crore project near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

"Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's two-day visit to Orissa on April 29 and 30 had been beneficial for the state and the Posco project. During his visit, Ramesh could realise that some people are deliberately opposing the project without any reason," he said.

Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), which had been opposing the project since the South Korean steel major inked MoU with the state government in 2005, however, said it would democratically oppose the steel plant as earlier and that locals are ''unhappy'' over final approval of forest diversion for the project.

"PPSS also will not hesitate to take the matter to the court of law as we feel that people living in proposed plant site villages are deprived of their rights under FRA, 2006," PPSS president Abhay Sahu told PTI.

The CPI-backed outfit said it would soon start ''Satyagraha'' at Balitutha, the entry point to proposed plant site area, opposing the project.

The Centre accorded the final approval of forest diversion over 1253 hectare (about 2900 acre) of land from among the 4,004 acre of total land demarcated to house the mega steel plant near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

Ramesh had on April 14 put on hold the forest land diversion proposed of the state government after he received claims by PPSS.

Clearing the decks for the biggest foreign direct investment in the country, Ramesh noted that the environment and forest clearance for the USD 12-billion Posco project had generated huge interest both in India and abroad.

The Minister said the project itself has "considerable economic, technological and strategic significance" for both the state and the country.

Maintaining that the laws on environment and forests must be implemented seriously, he said, "In this case, the 60 conditions imposed as part of my decision of January 31, 2011 provide a package of measures to ensure that the project will not be detrimental from an ecological and local livelihoods points of view."
"I would expect both the state and Posco to be extra-sensitive on this score," Ramesh said.

The Minister, who visited Orissa last week and held discussions with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on this issue, said he opted to repose trust in what the state government has so categorically asserted.

"Faith and trust in what the state government says is an essential pillar of cooperative federalism," Ramesh said recalling the state government's argument that the "two supposed palli sabha resolutions" he received were not valid documents in terms of mandatory provisions of law under the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964 and Forest Rights Act, 2006.

The Minister said he had received two ''palli sabha'' (village council) resolutions of Dhinkia dated February 21, 2011 and of Gobindpur dated February 23 from Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti, the opponents of the project, and he had referred the matter back to the state government.

In its reply on April 29, the state government informed the Minister that the two "resolutions" were "fake ones" and stringent action for violation of provisions of Orissa Grama Panchayat Act, 1964, would be taken against Sisir Mohaptra, Sarpanch (headman) Dhinkia.

The state government alleged that the sarpanch had "overstepped the jurisdiction vested in him and misutilised his official position" to serve the interest of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti of which he is the secretary.

The Minister said he expects that the Orissa government would "immediately pursue action" against the Sarpanch for what it has categorically said are "fraudulent" acts and "if no action is taken forthwith, I believe that the state government''s arguments will be called into serious question."