Posco ball in state govt's court, says Ramesh

It is for the government of Orissa to meet the legal rules if the mammoth Posco steel project is to be cleared by him, said Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh.

A day ahead of a meeting with Orisa chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who reiterated that project clearance is vital for both state and nation, Ramesh said: “The ball is now in the state government’s court.”

Ramesh’s ministry has pointed to gram sabha resolutions of 2006 in the areas affected by the project, opposing it. Ignoring these ‘palli sabha’ resolutions is a breach of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), the ministry and Ramesh have said.

In its recent reply to Ramesh’s ministry on compliance with the FRA at the Posco site, the state government had categorically stated there were no tribals or other traditional forest dwellers in the designated area. It also maintained the palli sabhas held by Posco opponents were not valid, as they were not convened by the gram sabha secretary and the proceedings were not recorded.

Project opponents, grouped under the Posco Protirodh Sangram Samiti, insist there are forest dwellers in the affected region and their meetings have consistently opposed the project. Ramesh has told the state government to address these accusations. B K Patnaik, the state government’s chief secretary, said: “We have sought a report on the Posco project from the Jagatsinghpur district administration. Whatever the state government is doing in connection with the Posco project is in accordance with the laws.”

Reacting to the Union minister’s statement here, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “I’ll be meeting the Union minister tomorrow evening. We will have discussions on various issues concerning the state. The state government is following up the Posco project and we are doing whatever is appropriate and correct. The Posco project is the biggest FDI (foreign direct investment proposal) in the country. The project will bring a great deal of revenue not just for Orissa but for the whole country and will certainly create a lot of jobs, both direct and indirect.”

Patnaik’s party had charged Ramesh’s ministry with adopting different yardsticks on the Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra (which has been cleared) and the Posco project. Asked, Ramesh said there were no double standards at all; he had only been following the rules. Ramesh on Friday made another point on the Posco project, that the captive port prooposal being proposed by the Korean comopany at Jatadhari Muhan in Jagatsinghpur district was in the high-erosion coastal zone. The enviroment ministry, he noted, had decided not to allow any new construction in high-erosion zones along the coast anywhere.

He was, he said, still awaiting the state government’s responses on the detailed onservatins of his ministry on the Posco issues. “My (two-day) tour to Orissa is only meant for visiting Bhitarkanika (wildlife sanctuary) and reviewing the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project,” Ramesh said.