Orissa CM to meet PM; may take up Posco, Vedanta issue

Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik will meet the Prime Minster here tomorrow and may take up the issue of denial of clearances to multi-billion dollar projects of Vedanta Resources and South Korean steel giant Posco in the state by the Environment Ministry.

"Patnaik will meet Prime Minister tomorrow and I think he will raise his concerns on the two mega projects (Vedanta and Posco)," a government official said.

The meeting is to take place amid speculations that a top committee of the Environment Ministry has accepted the recommendations of the N C Saxena panel seeking a ban on proposed mining project of UK-based Vedanta Resources in Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa, citing violation of green norms.

"Patnaik may also raise the issue regarding Environment Ministry's clearance last month to divert over 3,000 hectares of forest land for the construction of mega Polavaram dam in Andhra Pradesh but holding back clearances for projects in Orissa," the official said.

The report on mining in Niyamgiri hills was commissioned by the Environment Ministry, which had set up a panel headed by Saxena, member of the National Advisory Council, to probe into the alleged violations of tribal and forest laws.

The green panel has also accused the company of illegally occupying forest land for its $1.7 billion mining project. Vedanta Resources subsidiary Sterlite Industries is in pact with the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) for the mining project.

Under the agreement, OMC will mine bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills, which global NGOs say can threaten existence of endangered tribals like Dongria Kondh.

The allegations of the expert panel have, however, been strongly refuted by the state government.

Earlier this month Environment Ministry had also asked the Orissa government to stop all work related to Posco's estimated Rs 54,000 crore project in the state following recommendations by another committee headed by Saxena.

The panel, which studied the impact on the Forest Rights Act (FRA) at the site with regards to the sustainable management of forest resources across the country, cited violations of norms in acquiring land.

Patnaik had earlier sought PM's intervention in granting clearances to two mega projects proposed in the state.