Forest panel rejects POSCO clearance

A Union environment ministry panel has recommended temporary withdrawal of the forest clearance given to South Korean giant POSCO's proposed US $12 billion integrated steel plant in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district. On November 18 the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) said the project violates the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

FAC is an autonomous body and we cannot interfere with that, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said a day after FAC’s recommendation. A final decision on POSCO will be taken in the next few weeks, after reviewing coastal and environmental clearances of the project, he added. The steel plant requires about 1,619 hectare (ha), of which 1,173 ha is forestland. It will displace 471 families.