Peeved at the appointment of “activists” in the forest panel for clearing Rs 54,000 crore steel project of Posco, steel Minsiter Virbhadra Singh advised Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to be “pragmatic.” “The approach has to be pragmatic and not dogmatic. When there is an issue of development some sort of compromises have to be made,” Mr. Singh told PTI, when asked as to what his advice would be for Jairam Ramesh...

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,...

The state government is likely to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on October 29 Challenging  the judgement  of  the Orissa High Court to set aside recommendation of prospecting license (PL) in favour of Posco  . As per section 11 (5) of Mining and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, the state government  will  urge the Apex court to lease out Khandadhar mines on the basis of...

The Forest Advisory Committee of the Union environment and forests decided on Monday to not lift the temporary stay order on the forest clearance for Posco's Integrated steel Project at Orissa. This would imply continued stay on all activities at the Posco site. After a lengthy hearing with the state government officials present, the FAC decided to refer the possible violations of the Forest Rights Act to the Union ministry of...

When India’s Forest Rights Act was passed in 2006, it was criticized by environmentalists who were concerned that it would undo the country’s wildlife reserves. On the flip side, tribal rights advocates were concerned that the people the law was really meant to help wouldn’t benefit. Since it came into effect in January 2008, India has blocked at least one megaproject – Vedanta’s bauxite mine in Orissa – on the grounds...