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,...

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...

The 3-1 conclusion of the POSCO panel that all clearances to the Rs 50,000-crore project be scrapped should haven’t come as a surprise to at least one person: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh. The panel’s report now wends its way through the Ministry’s official expert committees. For, Ramesh had handpicked these members and each of the three who opposed the project has, in the past, taken clearly stated positions on infrastructure projects,...

As POSCO hits green roadblocks, the mega project seems doomed THE ODISHA government is trying hard not to sound defensive, after the Meena Gupta Committee report pulled it up for violating the local people’s forest rights while giving the nod to POSCO for setting up its proposed $12 billion steel plant. Earlier, a joint committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had reached the same conclusion, and reported several...

The environment ministry has told Vedanta Aluminium to stop all construction on the six-fold expansion of its aluminium refinery at Niyamgiri in Orissa, citing violation of environment laws. In a letter sent to the company today, the Jairam Ramesh-headed ministry also said Orissa’s forest and environment department should take legal action against the firm for the violations in its attempted expansion of the plant from 1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa)...