Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Clearance to POSCO Project Subject to Environmental Conditions

An Integrated Steel Plant and Captive Port by POSCO-India Pvt. Limited in District Jagatsinghpur in Orissa has been accorded approvals and clearances by the ministry of Environment and Forests. After following due procedure following Aapprovals / clearances has been given. This include environmental, Coastal Regulatory Zone(CRZ) and two stages of Foerst clearances.

The environmental clearance on 19.07.2007 to 4.0 MTPA Integrated Steel Plant with Captive Power Plant of 400 MW subject to stipulation of environmental safeguards; the CRZ clearance on 15.05.2007 for a minor captive port; Stage-I forest clearance on 19.09.2008 for diversion of 1253.225 ha. of forest land, subject to stipulation of conditions; and Stage-II forest clearance on 29.12.2009 for diversion of 1253.225 ha. of forest land, subject to certain conditions which inter alia includes that the rights of the tribal people will be settled as per the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 before implementation of the project.

On 08.01.2010 State Government of Orissa was further informed that the Stage-II forest clearance issued was conditional subject to settlement of rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The State Government was directed that no forest land should be handed over to the user Agency before settlement of rights under the above mentioned Act.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply to a question by Sh D Raja in Rajya Sabha today.

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