MoEF team to inspect Posco site this week

The fact-finding team set up by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF)

last month to probe allegations of violations of the Forest Rights Act by Posco, the Korean steel major, for its proposed project in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district, will visit the site on Friday and Saturday.

The team is led by Meena Gupta, a former secretary of this ministry and also of the tribal affairs one. The other members are V Suresh, a human rights advocate; Devendra Pandey, a forest service officer and Uma Pingle. This will be the second central team to visit the Posco site in a month, to look into allegations of FRA violation.

Members of the National Forest Rights Committee, jointly set up by MoEF and the Union ministry of tribal affairs, had visited the site on July 24.

That committee’s report had accused the state government of violating the FRA, by declining to honour the claims of traditional forest dwellers dependent for generations on the land earmarked for the project.

Subsequently, on the basis of the panel’s recommendations, MoEF had asked the state to stop land acquisition at the site. Complying, the state government had halted the process, which had started from July 27, on August 6.

Posco needs 1,253 hectares of forest land for the project, but it is supposed to first settle tribal rights as the FRA prescribes, among other requirements. The proposed project is a $12-billion one.