Posco project opposed by the New tribal minister

[Mrudul Godbole]

Posco project opposed by the New tribal minister
Jul 15, 2011, 03.17am IST

NEW DELHI: Newly-appointed tribal affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo on Thursday gave a boost to anti-mining activism by vetoing the Posco project in Orissa and also said that bauxite mining cannot be allowed just because the mineral deposits are under the houses of poor tribals.

Deo, who as Congress MP successfully lobbied against bauxite mining in his constituency in Vishakhapatnam, hailed the decision to stop Vedanta in Niyamgiri hills and even vetoed Posco in Orissa. "I am thankful to Rahul Gandhi for stopping Vedanta. Niyamgiri hills are sacred for locals and the source of two rivers which pass through my constituency Araku. My people would have suffered if mining was allowed there," he told TOI.

Deo's words are set to add to the fresh "development vs welfare" debate, with another minister sceptical of mining in restive tribal pockets. The minister, hailing from the family of tribal chiefs, slammed Orissa chief minister Navin Patnaik for pushing projects at the cost of the rights of tribals and forest dwellers. "That is the reason for unrest among tribals," he warned.

"It is not the fault of tribals if the rarest minerals are found under their houses. Would Navin Patnaik give his house for mining if there were minerals under it, or for that matter would Lutyen's Delhi be dug up. You cannot take up land for mining just because it involves poor tribals whose land rights have not been recognized," he said.

Marking his priorities as minister, Deo said he would take stock of implementation of the Forest Rights Act, saying it had to be implemented before any development project can be considered by displacing locals. "Only then a proposal can be considered and proper rehabilitation of locals has to be ensured," he said.

These words are unlikely to provide succour to the Orissa chief minister who is battling the Centre and Congress resistance to mega projects he has tried to commission. While the Centre turned down the Niyamgiri mining, Posco is facing hurdles from villagers opposing land acquisition. Congress has thrown its weight behind them -- from Union minister Jairam Ramesh to AICC incharge Jagdish Tytler, the party has warned the state against use of force.

The suave Deo is known for his opposition to mining in tribal areas. While Centre and state were about to give licences for bauxite mining in Araku, the MP lobbied against it. "Mining in Araku would have killed the source of four rivers and affected water supply to Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram and other satellite towns, while bringing misery to locals," he said.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Some more sad news about POSCO -

More than six lakh trees to be cut for Posco project
Bhubaneswar, Aug 2, (PTI):

Over six lakh trees and some 1,800 betel vines will have to be sacrificed to set up Posco's Rs 52,000 crore mega steel project in Orissa's coastal Jagatsinghpur district.

The trees to make way for the greenfield project include about three lakh casuarina and as many horticultural plants, official sources said.

Local people have voiced strong opposition against the move to clear the trees, arguing that they will be exposed to cyclone, tsunami and other natural calamities.

While a large number of women are guarding the forest area, male members of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, the organisation opposing the project, have posted themselves at Gobindpur village to prevent entry of security personnel and government officials to enter the plant area.

"We will discuss the matter with the local people to ensure smooth progress of work in the proposed plant site villages," Jagatsinghpur district collector N C Jena said.

Jena, however, assured that an afforestation exercise would be taken up to replace the trees. Also the South Korean steel giant would create enough greenery in its proposed plant premises and adjoining areas.

"The trees mostly belong to the casuarina variety, a fuel wood. In any case the trees, planted by the Forest Department after the Super-Cyclone in 1999 need to be cut at regular intervals," Orissa's Forest and Environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra said.

Stating that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest had already approved cutting of trees in the proposed plant site, the minister claimed that the state government had been following guidelines laid down for the purpose.

"There is no old tree or forest variety tree in the area," the minister said, adding a Supreme Court committee had also studied the issue.

The minister also claimed that compensatory forest cover would be created as part of the measures to make up for the loss of greenery.

"So far we have chopped trees worth Rs 10 lakh. Now we are enumerating blocks of fruit-bearing trees. Those will be removed and their owners will be compensated as per the government rates," additional district magistrates of Jagatsinghpur S K Choudhury said.

Trees belonging to horticulture varieties such as coconut, mango, jackfruit and cashew were now being cut, Chowdhury said.

"In monetary terms, we have estimated the total worth of the fruit-bearing trees, which need to be cut, at Rs 4.71 crore," an officer said.