Posco opponents slam Orissa government's claims on absence of tribals at project site

Opponents of the $12 billion Posco steel project in Orissa on Thursday rejected the claims of the state government that there were no tribal inhabitants or other traditional forest dwellers (OTFDs) at the proposed site in Jagatsinghpur district.

The Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), one of the main opponents to the project, claimed that it had already produced evidence to prove that the area was inhabited by OTFDs. It continues to demand that the project be scrapped.

A day after the Orissa government informed the union environment and forests ministry that the proposed site was not inhabited by tribals or OTFDs, the PPSS slammed the government and reiterated it would continue to oppose the South Korean steel giant's project.

The Orissa government had signed a memorandum of understanding with Posco way back in 2005 for setting up a 12 million-ton integrated steel plant in Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district. It was supposed to be the single-largest foreign direct investment (FDI) into India.

However, the project got bogged down in a political minefield and several environmental groups and other activists also raised objections. The project, which also included a captive minor port, was to come up on a sprawling, 1,621 hectares of land, of which about 1,250 hectares was on forest land.

Jairam Ramesh, the high-profile minister for environment and forests was also initially opposed to the plant. However, the South Korean government and the steel major brought pressure on the government, following which the ministry gave conditional clearance for the project in January. It asked the state government for a categorical assurance that no tribals or traditional forest-dwellers were dependent on the land.