Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Meena Gupta’s Posco report on Monday

Meena Gupta’s Posco report on Monday

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Oct 16, 2010   modified Modified on Oct 16, 2010

The fate of South Korean steel giant Posco’s project in Orissa will be decided by early November. The decision will be taken before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travels to Seoul for the G-20 meet in the second week of November.

The environment ministry-appointed committee headed by former environment secretary Meena Gupta will submit its report on October 18. Sources said that there are indications that the panel will not be submitting an unanimous view. The report will be considered by the Forest Advisory Committee at its meeting on October 25.

A senior environment ministry official said that no delays were expected on the decision. The South Korean steelmaker’s Rs 54,000 crore ($12 billion) project in Jagatsinghpur in Orissa is the largest foreign direct investment in the country. It has already faced more than three years of delays because of controversy over land acquisition and mining rights.

The government is understood to be keen on working out a solution in keeping with the law. The Centre will like to see this project take off given the impact it could have for foreign investments in the future. South Korea has emerged as a big investor and the government would like to see more investments flowing in from there. The Posco investment also fits in well into the government’s ‘Look East’ policy, which seeks to build on close political-strategic ties with Asian countries.

The Meena Gupta committee was constituted on July 28 to investigate the status of the implementation of the Forest Rights Act, and the implementation of the rehabilitation and resettlement plans. Its mandate was subsequently broadened to review Posco's compliance with environmental and coastal regulation zone clearances. The Gupta panel’s report will include a "review compliance with statutory provisions, approvals, clearances and permissions under various statues, rules, notifications.”

The project was granted conditional clearance in December 2009. It was subject to fulfilling 15 conditions including securing the consent of the local people, who are categorised as other forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act.

Posco had indicated that it needs about 1,600 hectares for its project in the state, of which 1173 hectares is forested. Besides settlement of claims under the Forest Rights Act, which is to be undertaken by the state government, Posco is to “suitably compensate” the project affected families as required by the R&R policy 2006 of the government of Orissa and the Supreme Court order of 1995.

The company is also required to give the fishing community of Nolia Sahi financial aid and access to the sea. The report by the Gupta panel will detail whether all the conditions listed out by the ministry are being adhered to. Work on Posco’s Jagatsinghpur project was suspended following a stop work order by the environment ministry in August. The decision was taken after the NC Saxena-Devendra Pandey committee appointed by the central government reported violations of Forest Rights Act at the Posco site.


The Economic Times, 16 October, 2010, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Meena-Guptas-Posco-report-on-Monday/articleshow/6757099.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close