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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 21 tribals vs 12 mn tonnes of steel by Amitabh Sinha

21 tribals vs 12 mn tonnes of steel by Amitabh Sinha

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published Published on Oct 27, 2010   modified Modified on Oct 27, 2010

Both Posco and the Orissa government said there were no tribals on the land for Posco’s 12 mn tonne steel plant. The presence of 21 tribals in the voters list has hit their credibility and probably the plant as well

A 4-member environment ministry committee has recommended that the environmental clearances given to Posco be revoked for the violation of existing laws, for serious lapses and suppression of facts. As always, we try to explain the issues in a simple Question & Answer format that makes complex issues more accessible to our readers.

How big is the Posco project?

Posco’s MoU with the Orissa government in June 2005 envisages setting up India’s largest iron and steel plant—12 million tonnes equals what 6 PSU plants (Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela, Burnpur and Salem) produce. The project is to be located in Kujang tehsil of Jagatsinghpur district. Most of the steel will be exported and a captive port is to be set up about 12 km south of Paradip port. The project also involves a captive power plant and a host of related infrastructure like township development. At $12 billion, this is India’s largest FDI till date.

What progress has been made so far?

None. It got major clearances in 2007 but the approval for the use of forest land came only in December 2009. The company began acquiring land last July but after the NC Saxena report on implementing the Forest Rights Act in Orissa (like for bauxite mining by Vedanta in Niyamgiri), which pointed to violations at the Posco site, the environment ministry asked Posco, on August 6, to stop all work till further directions.

What are the environmental issues?

They relate to forests, to the Coastal Zone Regulations (CRZ) and the environment clearance.

What is the forest issue?

More than 75% of the project’s 1,620.49 ha is forest land. Using this for ‘non-forest purposes’ requires Central approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. In 2008, the Forest Rights Act also became operational, which gave individuals and communities dependent on forests not just a right over the forests, but also the right to protect and conserve these forests. This means that the project requires forest-dwelling communities to agree to Posco using the land. Posco’s December 2009 forest clearance was made conditional in January 2010, after it was alleged that the FRA procedures had not been followed.

And the other ones?

Posco’s port got environmental and CRZ clearance in May 2007 and the steel plant got these approvals in July 2007.

If Posco got its clearances, where did the problem arise?

The way things are structured, each company gets an environment impact assessment (EIA) report by a consultant. This is then cleared by the state government and, finally, placed before the relevant expert committees of the Union environment ministry for approvals. These committees—there are lots of them, each with an assigned mandate—generally go by the claims and facts presented by the company and endorsed by the state-level agencies. Conditions for compliance of laws are put while clearing the proposals. These committees normally meet for 2-3 days a month and sometimes examine 60-70 project proposals during these sittings. It is not too often that the committees are able to ensure that the conditions imposed on project proponents are being met. Compliance has to be ensured by state-level agencies. When complaints reach the Centre, sometimes fact-finding teams are sent to the site. In the case of the Navi Mumbai airport, for example, the Expert Appraisal Committee has now gone to the airport site.

So why did the committee go to the Posco site?

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh got complaints alleging that the claims made by the company and the state government—that there were no tribals in the project areas for instance—were not correct. On July 29, Ramesh set up a fact-finding committee comprising Meena Gupta, a former Environment Secretary, Devendra Pandey, a retired Indian Forest Service officer, Urmila Pingle, a noted expert on tribal issues, and V Suresh, a PUCL activist and lawyer at the Madras High Court.

What did the committee find?

Before we get to that, it is important to note that the committee’s findings were split and Gupta issued a dissent note.

What did the majority find?

The voters list showed the existence of 21 tribals in the area, contrary to claims made by the company and the state government. An unspecified number of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) are also believed to be living in the area. Since their rights had not been settled as per the FRA, the forest clearance was invalid. The environmental clearance was obtained on what is known as a Rapid EIA and not on a comprehensive EIA. Rapid EIA is based on data for one season only while a comprehensive EIA is done by taking data from at least three seasons into account. Moreover, the Rapid EIA for the plant was done during the monsoon season, which is legally impermissible. The Rapid EIA was done only for a 4 million tonne/year capacity (first phase) while clearances were obtained for 12 million tonne/year capacity. Several components of the project, including the development of a township, transportation and pipeline were not included in the Rapid EIA. Part of the steel plant falls under CRZ areas, prohibited by law. The issue of water supply to the project during the construction phase and later to the plant is still to be settled. If drawn from Mahanadi, drinking water supply to Cuttack and other places would be disrupted.

So, is this a tribal area?

The family names of 21 tribals are mostly Hembram and Murmu. Some say they are mostly found in other districts of Orissa, so they might not be very old residents of this area. In her report Meena Gupta writes, “It is a fact that the area is not a Scheduled Area (defined under Schedule V of Constitution)… and that there are very few Scheduled Tribe persons in the area. As per the voters list of 2007, provided to us by the state government, the total number of STs in the villages in question was less than 30… Therefore the possibility of there being ST forest dwellers in the area is very unlikely.” But she does mention that there could be OTFDs whose claims need to be settled. The other report points out that Polanga village is actually a reserved constituency for Scheduled Tribes for the Gadkujang gram panchayat.

It also adds, “As per the land cover analysis with high resolution satellite imagery of 2006/2007 by Orissa government, about 70% area of the forest land is covered with various kinds of forest and trees and the remaining area is sandy, covered with betel vine, agriculture and other miscellaneous activities, as also water bodies.” Meena Gupta describes the same land as “mainly sandy waste with some scrub forest...”

What has the committee said?

Three of the members have recommended that all of Posco’s clearances should be revoked and, if need be, the company should start getting clearances afresh. Gupta has said Posco should be asked to make course corrections, and that there was no need to cancel the clearances already given. The environment ministry will now take a call on the two reports.

Is there a solution to this business of companies getting clearances and these getting revoked later?

The government is in the process of setting up a National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA), on the lines of US Environment Protection Agency (EPA), which will be empowered to monitor compliance and enforce environmental laws.

Is there a fundamental conflict between FRA and mining of areas?

Theoretically, even if one gram sabha doesn’t agree to give up its land, any project in forest areas can be stopped.


The Indian Express, 26 October, 2010, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/21-tribals-vs-12-mn-tonnes-of-steel/702287/


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