The Union Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) today asked the Orissa government to look into the allegations by Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) before submitting its status report on the implementation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
PPSS, which has been spearheading the anti-Posco movement in the state, had recently written to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on the presence of Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) at the Posco site and the reluctance of locals to allow diversion of forest land for the project.
Ramesh shot off a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik saying that the state government should look into the allegations and should take responsibility to ensure implementation of FRA.
In the e-mail to Ramesh, PPSS had claimed that there are OTFDs at the site and there was sufficient evidence to prove it. The organisation had also said that during the palli sabha conducted on February 22-23 at the Posco site, locals had opposed the forest diversion plans for the steel plant.
The Chief Minister has already approved the documents to be sent to the MoEF on proper implementation of FRA-2006. The state government has reiterated that there are no tribals or other traditional forest dwellers at the site.
“The sea-side villages near Paradwip were not categorised as forest land 75 years ago. Therefore, provisions under FRA could not be applicable to villages at the Posco’s proposed plant site,” state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik had told media persons last Saturday.
