The villagers supporting the Posco’s proposed 12 million tonne steel plant near Paradip have welcomed the decision of the Union ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) giving final nod for diversion of 1,253 hectares of forest land for the project.
“We were sure that the Union minister for Forest and Environment, Jairam Ramesh would accept the views of the state government rejecting the resolutions of the fake pallisabha convened by sarpanch of Dhinikia violating the Gram Panchayat Act and give final forest clearance to the project’ said Nirvya Samantray, secretary, United Action Committee, a pro-Posco outfit active in the project site.
Samantray demanded stern action against Dhinkia sarpanch Sisir Mohapatra for misleading the local villagers and the governments at the Centre and the state on the opposition of the locals to the project and the presence of tribals and other traditional forest dwellers at the project site.
He said, “truth has finally prevailed and villagers of three panchayts would get their justice with MoEF fulfilling their longstanding demands”.
“It is the victory of people fighting against the design of Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) opposing the project since last 5 years. The pro Posco people are jubilant and celebrating the MoEF decision”, he said.
He hoped, with the MoEF hurdles cleared, the work on the 12 mtpa steel mill would start soon bringing economic benefit to the locals.
The anti-Posco brigade led by PPSS, however, were sore over the development. "What was the basis of giving final forest clearance to Posco project ignoring the sentiments of local villagers? What is the use of spending crores of rupees from the state exchequer by sending two committees to the area whose views were not taken into account?" questioned PPSS president Abhay Sahu.
Stating that the forest clearance was given due to diplomatic pressure from South Korea, Sahu alleged that the Centre has "disregarded" its own laws and regulations. Meanwhile, PPSS decided to conduct meetings within a day or two to chart out strategies to intensify agitation against land acquisition for the project in Dhinkia panchayat.
