Sunday, August 8, 2010
NEW DELHI (AFP) - – A political leader in eastern India has appealed to New Delhi to overturn an environmental order halting construction of a 12-billion-dollar iron ore project by South Korea's POSCO.
Orissa state chief minister Naveen Patnaik sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assistance in allowing work to continue on the project, the Press Trust of India reported Saturday.
"When the proposed project has reached a decisive stage, it is unfortunate to ask for halting all activities in the name of review of implementation of the Forest Rights Act," Patnaik said in a letter to the prime minister.
Patnaik accused the environment ministry of being guided by the recommendation of a "committee of NGOs (non-governmental organisations)", adding the move could hurt the flow of foreign investment to the country.
POSCO's plans to build a steel plant with an annual capacity of 12 million tons in Orissa has been hailed as India's largest foreign investment since the country launched market reforms in 1991.
The mining plans are seen as a test case, pitting industrial development interests in India against those of indigenous peoples and the environment.
Vast tracts of India's mineral wealth lie in parts of the country that are home to indigenous tribes.
Orissa state and POSCO signed a deal in June 2005 but construction has been delayed due to an ongoing dispute with villagers worried about losing their livelihood and property.
India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced Friday the ministry had told the state to cease work on the project after a committee concluded it violated legislation aimed at protecting forest dwellers and forest lands.
Under the Forest Rights Act, locals' permission is mandatory before acquiring forest land for a project. Rights groups have told the ministry the locals' permission was never sought, which the state denied.
The government has also said it is reviewing plans by British resources giant Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite on land held sacred by locals to feed a 900-million-dollar aluminium refinery.
"Any violation of the forest act will not be spared," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told parliament earlier in the week.
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