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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Environment ministry cites loopholes in forest laws to defend clearing Posco- by Nitin Sethi

Environment ministry cites loopholes in forest laws to defend clearing Posco- by Nitin Sethi

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published Published on Jul 19, 2011   modified Modified on Jul 19, 2011
NEW DELHI: The environment ministry made a specious argument before the Cuttack bench of Orissa High Court, defending its decision to clearPosco without verifying if the Forest Rights Act had been violated or not in diverting forest land to the Rs 54,000 crore integrated steel plant.

It said that the law – also UPA's flagship pro-tribal scheme -- did not provide any mechanism to verify its implementation in a case, it simply asked for an assurance from the state government for it.

The ministry decided to keep silent on the pre-condition it had earlier put on the state government for giving the forest clearance and then ignored – that the consent of the people with rights on the lands should be sought as per the ministry's August 2009 directive.

In its affidavit in the case in Orissa HC, the Union government said, "Procedure and the authority competent to determine whether all conditions required to be fulfilled by a person for his recognition as other forest dweller for the purpose of the FRA are fulfilled by him or not, are not provided in the FRA. It has also not been provided in the FRA rules."

It went on to defend its position without reference to its August 2009 circular, stating, "The MoEF at that time therefore, had no option but to ask the state government of Orissa, who has the primary responsibility of ensuring and guaranteeing compliance with FRA, to give a categorical assurance."

It omitted mention of the condition it had put in its January 2010 letter to the state government, "It is clarified that the project can go ahead only after conditions of letter dated August 2009 including the condition related to consent of the tribal people is fulfilled under FRA." It also said, "The state government is therefore requested that the conditions stipulated in our various orders shall be fulfilled in their true spirit."

But just as the state government ignored the orders, so did the authors – the environment ministry. In August 2009, the environment ministry had passed a directive to ensure that the forest clearance process did not fall foul of the Forest Rights Act. In order to ensure compliance, it asked for certificates from the gram sabha (in this case pali sabha) that their rights had been settled and that they agreed to hand over the forests to the project.

The ministry's special committees set up to review the project in particular as well as the implementation of Forest Rights Act had concluded that the rights of people had not been settled by the government. The statutory Forest Advisory Committee too had said the same but the minister had over-ruled the three citing other strategic reasons besides asking the state government to just give an assurance instead of providing evidence.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/developmental-issues/Environment-ministry-cites-loopholes-in-forest-laws-to-defend-clearing-Posco/articleshow/9277944.cms


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