Posco gets clearance to build its steel plant
Bhubaneswar: South Korean steel major Posco has got final clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests for acquiring forest land in Orissa for its $12 billion steel plant project, a company official said on Friday.
"We have received final forest clearance from the ministry," Posco-India General Manager (External Relation) Simanta Mohanty told IANS.
He said the ministry gave the clearance on Wednesday.
Posco, one of the world's biggest steel makers, signed a deal with the state government in June 2005 to set up the steel plant near the port town of Paradeep in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur, some 100 km from here, by 2016.
The steel maker acquired about 4,004 acres of land for its project, of which 2,900 acres was forest land. Mohanty said the company has already deposited Rs 105 crore with the state government towards compensatory afforestation.
Thanking the central and the state government for extending consistent support to the project, he said the company is committed to creating a green belt of two million trees in the project area.
"We are ready to commence work any time after land is handed over to us," he said.
The Posco project in Orissa has already had a delay of more than two years due to protests by local residents.
Link - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/posco-get...7.html?from=tn
Environment ministry OKs Posco project
Environment ministry OKs Posco project
AGENCIES, Jan 31, 2011, 02.01pm IST
NEW DELHI: The environment ministry approved on Monday South Korean Posco's plans for a $12 billion steel mill, a boost for the foreign investment climate after several setbacks for big ticket industrial projects.
The long-delayed clearance for India's biggest foreign direct investment -- as long as the company meets a series of environmental standards -- follows a year in which environment minister Jairam Ramesh has blocked several projects, raising criticism he was jeapordising India's growth story.
"Undoubtedly projects such as that of Posco have considerable economic, technological and strategic significance for the country," the statement said. "At the same time, laws on environment and forests must be implemented seriously."
The environment ministry has imposed 28 additional conditions on Posco's steel-cum-captive power plant project. 32 additional conditions have been imposed while granting green clearance for a captive minor port as part of the Posco project.
The mill in Orissa has been delayed by criticism it would ruin lives of thousands of poverty-stricken people, who say the plant will disrupt their betel leaf plantations and forest-based livelihoods.
India, one of the world's fastest growing major economies, needs foreign capital to boost infrastructure and allow its economy to grow at near double digits. But projects have met with protests from local farmers in this densely-populated country.
A government panel had earlier said there were no ecological concerns over the plant and the final decision was with Ramesh.
POSCO is among several corporations, including Vedanta Resources, which have come under scrutiny from Ramesh, putting his ministry in conflict with others in the government who are pushing for rapid industrialization.
A series of corruption scandals has shaken the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a recent minor cabinet reshuffle saw several ministers' portfolios change, but Ramesh stayed on as environment minister, indicating his influence.
Sonia Gandhi, is keen to win over farmers hit by big projects at well as ensuring industrial jobs are created -- a fine line that may have helped create regulatory uncertainty before state elections this year and a general election in 2014.
Link - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...#ixzz1CcvNwM8L
PPSS questions MoEF clearance to Posco, to intensify stir
PPSS questions MoEF clearance to Posco, to intensify stir
PTI | 05:01 PM,Jan 31,2011
Bhubaneswar, Jan 31 (PTI) Questioning conditional clearance to Posco project despite adverse reports by two key committees, Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) today announced plan to intensify its agitation against the mega project by the South Korean steel major."What is the basis of giving conditional clearance to Posco project? What is the use of spending crores of rupees from the state exchequer by setting up two committees?", PPSS president Abhay Sahu asked.Stating that the project had been cleared due to diplomatic pressure from South Korea, Sahu alleged that the Centre had "dishonored" its own laws and regulations.They (the ministry) had violated a host of laws under Forest Conservation Act, Environment Protection Act, Coastal Zone Regulation Act and Forest Rights Act by giving clearance to Posco's steel, power and port projects, Sahu alleged.PPSS, which had been opposing the project ever since Posco-India signed MoU with the state government in 2005, decided to hold a meeting at the proposed plant site villages tomorrow, he said.A section of villagers supporting the project, however, were happy over the centre's decision and expressed optimism that the 12mtpa steel mill would soon come up in their area near Paradip."We are happy that the Centre cleared the Posco project," said Kesbah Rout, leader of the pro-project group.PTI AAM SKN CR
Link - http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfee...ir/558904.html
The Inflection Point - Environment & Technology
POSCO is a massive project in India. Some 50,000 people are going to be employed directly or indirectly through this project. As most readers would be aware, apart from the mines, POSCO also plans to build a massive port to ship raw ores etc. Looks like the clock has turned full circle! We have yet again slid down the bottom of the technology pyramid - exporting raw material instead of making efforts to go up the value chain. Nevertheless, the project is huge and India needs massive injections of capital to provide its citizens basic amenities- clean water, sanitation, food, education and healthcare.
At this stage, when millions of Indians are straining to go to the next level, how do we make sure the price that they pay is not that of a degraded environment?
The ways things are going, I am sure that the emerging markets including India & China would - in near future - would favour development over conservation. But it's not bad news all way long. There are some silver lining in the dark cloud in the form of technological advances
Today advances in biochemistry, medicine, metallurgy, mechanics are providing us many alternate solutions to otherwise big dirty problems. Risk persist - but we are making inroads. Every technology has an inflection point. Technology advancement follows a rather predictable trajectory - discovery, incremental advancement & technology plateau. This technology plateau holds till the next disruptive breakthrough. There are examples galore - steam engine to gasoline engine, the electric bulb, hydel power, computers, digital storage, penicillin and so on and so forth. I have no doubt that we are on our way to make green technologies really work. Its the holy truth - Humans are programmed to innovate.
Can we program the POSCOs & TATAs of the world to take a lead in real technology innovation too? It's time they move out of their comfort zone of planting Eucalyptus and get into substantive conservation. It is important that they fund, support and spearhead top notch scientific breakthrough research in conservation. These organizations have to be the positive disrupters of the future...
Many fought against POSCO. Sadly, the right counsel was ignored. Maybe it's time to think of the road ahead.
Green tribunal suspends enviromental clearance to Posco
Seems there is still some hope..
Green tribunal suspends enviromental clearance to Posco
PTI | Mar 30, 2012, 02.44PM IST
NEW DELHI: The environment clearance granted to Posco's mega steel project in Orissa in January 2011 will remain suspended till the environment ministry reviews it afresh, the National Green Tribunal held today.
"The environment clearance granted on January 31, 2011 to the project shall remain suspended till such review and appraisal is done by the ministry," a bench of tribunal comprising Justice C V Ramulu and Devendra Kumar Agarwal held.
The tribunal pointed out that memorandum of understanding between the Orissa government and Posco states that the project is for production of 12 million tonnes of steel per annum (MTPA) but the environment impact assessment (EIA) report has been prepared only for 4 MTPA steel production in the first phase.
It said the MoEF should take "policy decision" that in projects of such magnitude the EIA should be done for the complete project.
"The EIA should assess it for the full capacity right from the beginning," it said.
The tribunal directed the MoEF to review the clearance afresh and attach "specific conditions" which Posco would have to follow in a "defined timeline".
It also directed the MoEF to set up a special committee to "monitor the compliance to the environment clearance" thus granted.
The bench said appointment of Meena Gupta as chairman of the committee to review the environmental clearance showed "departmental bias" as she had only "supported" the environment clearance granted to Posco earlier during her tenure as the Secretary, the MoEF.
"The entire process was vitiated in the eyes of law," the bench said in this regard.
The tribunal also said that the project proponent should generate its own source of water instead of utilising the drinking water meant for the Cuttack city in Orissa.
"In the country drinking water is scarce. It would be better to ask the project proponent to generate its own source of water. Avoiding utilising water meant for Cuttack city could be asked by the ministry," it said.
The order came on a plea filed by environment activist Prafulla Samantray seeking quashing of the environmental clearance granted to Posco on the ground that it was "contrary to the provisions of the EIA Notification 2006" and was "illegal and arbitrary".
Advocate Ritwick Dutta, appearing for the petitioner, had said that impact on environment in case of steel production by the plant to its full capacity would be much more.
Prafulla, in his petition said, "It is admitted that the project will not be viable if it is restricted to the steel production of only 4 MTPA. In such circumstances, the EIA report should have been for 12 MTPA (of steel production). The project proponent has opted to do an EIA for 4 MTPA since the likely impact of 12 MTPA is bound to be much more and very significant".
Posco India Pvt Ltd was granted environmental clearance for its two projects, steel-cum-captive power plant project and captive minor port, in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa in 2007.
The MoEF after reviewing the same, granted environmental clearance with additional conditions on January 31, 2011 which prompted the petitioner to move the tribunal.
The clearance was assailed contending that "the whole approach of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) was not to give an unbiased opinion, but rather to justify the decision to grant environmental clearance to both the projects."
The environment ministry, however, had told the tribunal there was no infirmity in its decision to grant environmental clearance to Posco.
Posco had also maintained that it has not violated any law and is working in compliance with the norms.
