Ramesh clears Posco, but sets 61 conditions

Withholds final forest clearance pending FRA approval.

In a major relief to South Korean steel major Poha

ng Steel Company (Posco) — and continuing a pattern of reconciling violations of environmental laws with additional conditions for  additclearance — the environment ministry today approved the firm’s Rs 54,000-crore ($12-billion) steel plant. Seen as one of the largest foreign direct investments in India, the project has been in limbo for nearly six years.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has imposed 61ional conditions before giving approval to the project, which includes a port and steel plant. Among the conditions is setting aside 2 per cent of the company’s profits for the area’s development and a commitment to keep 25 per cent of the premises green.

Welcoming the environment ministry’s decision, Posco said: “We fully appreciate the concerns of different stakeholders on sustainability of environment as well as livelihood of affected people. We are committed to take sustainable green initiatives and effective measures for conserving the land and marine environment of the area. We are also committed to create sustainable livelihood opportunities for the project affected people through implementing an R&R package sincerely.”

In his much-awaited decision, Ramesh almost shut the door on protests by villagers in the area, who faced the loss of land on which they traditionally cultivated betal leaf by declaring that it was not a scheduled area and, hence, did not have tribals. However, he has withheld final forest clearance on 1,253 hectares, pending final assurance from the state on compliance with the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.

“It seems to be good news,” said Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik, when asked for his reaction to the environment ministry conditional clearance to the Posco project.

As in several recent cases, Ramesh cited “considerable economic, technological and strategic significance for the country” for giving approval to the project, whose approval had been rejected by successive internal and external committees of the ministry, the last one being in December 2010.

Whether withholding clearance pending FRA compliance would mean that the state government would have to hold public hearings in all the gram sabhas and obtain their consent is not clear. But the minister added in his statement that the state government has already issued a statement in March last year about there being no tribals in the area, thus ruling out the need for public hearings.

The Orissa government and Posco had signed an MoU on June 22, 2005 to set up an integrated steel plant with a total capacity of 12 million tonnes a year (with 4 million tonnes in the first phase) at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

The entire project complex requires about 1,621 hectares of land, of which about 1,253 hectares is forest land.

The steel plant has been delayed by often violently opposition by local villages. Responding to the environment ministry’s clearance, the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti said: “Jairam Ramesh and the UPA government have shown their true colours with their decision today on the Posco project. Ignoring the reports of its own advisory bodies and enquiry committees, violating its own orders and the laws of the land, this ministry has shown the naked face of corporate greed.”