MoEF expands terms of reference of Posco committee

Will review compliance of the project with various statutory provisions and central, state clearances.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has expanded the terms of reference of the Meena Gupta committee probing into alleged violations of the Forest Rights Act at the Posco project site in Orissa.

The order amending the terms of reference said that it will now review the compliance of the project with Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), Coastal Regulation Zone and other clearances granted by MoEF and other central, state and local authorities.

Besides, it will review the compliance of the project and the state authorities with statutory provisions, approvals, clearances and permission under various statutes, rules and notifications.

This is in addition to the earlier terms of reference that included ascertaining the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers (Regulation of Forest Rights) Act in and around the forest land within the project site and investigation and ascertainment of the status of the implementation of the Rehabilitation and Resettlement provisions with respect to the project-affected people.

The committee, which visited the Posco project site for two days, met both supporters and opponents of the project and collected their views on violation of the Forest Rights Act in the area.

While the anti-Posco brigade, through oral and documentary submission, pleaded before the committee to be treated as Other Traditional Forest Dwellers as in the provisions of FRA, the project supporters argued there were no tribals in the area, nor were the villagers dependent on forest land for their livelihood for the last three generations.

“We have interacted with the villagers and collected their views. We will go back, discuss and ascertain the facts before submitting the report,” said Gupta.

The other members of the team were Urmila Pingle, an expert on tribal issues, Devendra Pandey, a former forest service officer and V Suresh, an advocate of Madras High Court.

The MoEF has, meanwhile, extended the deadline for the panel to submit its report on Posco from August 28 to September 30. The revision has come in the backdrop of the ministry expanding the terms of reference.

The committee was set up after the N C Saxena committee recommended revocation of the clearance given to the Rs 54,000-crore Posco steel project in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur in December 2009.