Posco project: Orissa to submit report to MoEF by Wednesday

With the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik giving his seal of approval to the documents to be sent to the Union Ministry of environment & forests (MoEF) on compliance with Forest Rights Act at the Posco project site, the Orissa government is likely to send its report to the ministry by next Wednesday.

“The Chief Minister has already approved the documents to be sent to the MoEF on proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. We have reiterated our earlier stand that there are no tribals or other traditional forest dwellers at the Posco site,” Chief Secretary B K Patnaik told media persons here.

"The sea-side villages near Paradip were not categorized as forest land 75 years ago. Therefore, provisions under FRA could not be applicable to villages at the Posco's proposed plant site," he added.

Though the state government had exuded confidence to send the report to the ministry before the end of February, claimants of FRA at the project site appeared to have played spoilsport and had delayed the process of filing of response.

The state government had sought the inputs of the Jagatsinghpur district administration for preparing its response.

The report which was prepared by the department of tribal affairs was subsequently vetted by the forest department.

In its final order on the Posco project, the MoEF had held that before giving final nod on diversion of forest land, the state government has to give a categorical assurance to the ministry that at least one of the three conditions is not fulfilled in case of those claiming to be dependent on or cultivating forest land in the Posco project area.

These conditions include having permanently resided in the forest land for 75 years prior to December 13, 2005, present dependence on forest or forest land for bona fide livelihood needs and having been in occupation of forest land before December 13, 2005.

According to the order of the ministry, non-tribals who meet these conditions constitute Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs).

The ministry in its order dated January 31 this year had imposed 28 conditions on the mega steel plant as well as captive power plant proposed near Paradip and 32 conditions for the captive port of the company to be set up at Jatadhari Muhan in Jagatsinghpur district.

Work on the Posco project had come to a grinding halt after the MoEF had issued a stop work order on August 5 last year.

The Posco project needed 4004 acres in all out of which 2958 acres comprised forest land.

A high-level team consisting of Priyabrata Patnaik, chairman and managing director of Industrial Infrastructure Corporation of Orissa (Idco) and the state Director General of Police, Manmohan Praharaj had visited the Posco site in February to take sock of the ground level progress.

As many as 534 acres of land has been handed over to Posco and Idco will prepare an Action Plan for this allotted patch of land.