Fate of Posco's Orissa plant will be decided today

In a bid to build up pressure before the meeting of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) to decide the fate of Posco’s mega steel plant in Orissa, those opposed to it stepped up the momentum.

Project opponents, led by Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS), the organization spearheading the agitation against the South Korean company, held a massive rally and protest meeting yesterday at Balitutha, entry point to the project site. People from the affected villages such as Dhinkia, Gobindpur, Nugaon and Gadkujang attended.

Referring to the adverse remarks of three of the four members of the Meena Gupta committee set up by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on the project, speakers demanded scrapping of the project and action against the government officials who had aided the company to get various clearances.

Legal action should be taken against district officials who’d taken land in breach of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), giving false reports and the like, they said.

Stating the Saxena committee report and the majority of the Meena Gupta panel had corroborated the allegations of violation of the FRA and the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), speakers demanded for withdrawal of environment, forest and CRZ clearances given to the project and its captive port at Jatadhari river mouth near Paradip.

They warned about intensifying the agitation if the government allowed the company to go ahead with the project following the FAC meeting on Monday.