An environment ministry committee has confirmed that the Forest Rights Act was violated during acquisition of land for South Korean steelmaker Posco's project in Orissa. The Forest Advisory Committee, which in December 2009 had given approval for the $12 billion project, did not recommend scrapping the approval given. In August 2010, the ministry had stopped the acquisition work on the basis of a report submitted by the NC Saxena Committee, constituted to...
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Posco's chances dim as another panel says no by Nitin Sethi
The deck's being stacked against Posco. In the biggest blow yet to the South Korean giant's Rs 54,000-crore project in Orissa, a key committee of the environment ministry has recommended the withdrawal of forest clearance to the multinational's plan to build an integrated steel plant. If accepted by environment minister Jairam Ramesh, the recommendation of the forest advisory committee (FAC) could sound the death-knell for the country's biggest FDI project....
More »India's social audit of schemes draws world attention by Seema Chisti
IF Brazil has its Bolsa Familia, and Mexico its Progresa — schemes for alleviating poverty that have caught the fancy of international organisations — something that India has done recently is making news internationally. India’s system of social audits, that is, independent but local auditing of social programmes to fight poverty, like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), is attracting world attention. A 42-member delegation from 33 countries...
More »Forest Act implementation poor in state: Report by Rakesh Lohumi
The joint committee on the Forest Rights Act (FRA) has termed the implementation of the Act in the state as extremely poor and recommended that it should be enforced in the state and not confined only to the tribal areas. It is of the firm view that there should be no diversion of forest land till the FRA is enforced fully. Disagreeing with the general perception on the part of the government...
More »Forest management panels to come under gram sabha
In a bid to give local communities a key role in managing forest resources, the Forest Department's smallest unit at the grassroots-level will now report to panchayati-raj institutions instead. In a letter to all Chief Ministers on Friday, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh directed State governments to amend State acts and rules to bring all Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) under the supervision of gram sabhas. This means that the village leaders...
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