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In a major decision that has shaken India Inc., the Ministry of Environment
and Forests has rejected Vedanta's mining project in
Odisha's Niyamgiri Hills on the grounds of "serious violation of laws,"
namely the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the Environment Protection Act,
1966 and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. "Therefore, the project
cannot go ahead," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh ruled last
week. A ministry statement stated that the stage-II forest clearance
for Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd and Sterlite's bauxite mining project
on Niyamgiri Hills in Lanjigarh, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of
Orissa could not be granted and, as a result, stage-II forest clearance
was also being rejected. Since the forest clearance was being rejected,
the environmental clearance for this mine was inoperable. The
action follows the finding of a four-member committee headed by N.C.
Saxena which investigated alleged violations of environmental laws,
endangering the survival of tribals living in the project area. The environment
ministry has set up another panel to examine Korean company
POSCO's steel plant in Odisha and its report will be submitted by
the end of September.
In a related development, protests by environmentalists, religious
and social leaders has forced the government to scrap NTPC's 600-
mw Loharinag Pala hydro project on Bhaghirathi river in Uttarakhand.
In yet another development, the Navi Mumbai airport project may be
scaled down, according to reports, and plans altered so as to prevent
its impact on the environment-endangering mangroves and diverting
two rivers. The ministry, which had remained nondescript for
decades, has apparently arrived at the centre stage of infrastructure
development, be it in power, irrigation, airports, highways, mining,
petroleum refinery or oil and gas pipelines, to ensure that projects are
not falling foul of green laws, such as, the Environment Protection Act,
the Wildlife Conservation Act, the Forest Conservation Act, the Forest
Rights Act, the Air and Water Act, and a host of other rules and guidelines
that make them operational.
Apart from environment issues that are posing major challenges to
infrastructure projects, land issues also remain a major issue. Thus,
farmers in around 115 villages in Uttar Pradesh now want more
money for their land for the Noida-Agra expressway, and investors
who have sunk huge amounts in the road project and subsidiary projects
are nervously awaiting the outcome of the faceoff between the
state government and farmers. Here, the Tatas could find the Gujarat
government obliging with cheaper land at Sanand for its Nano project,
but this is not a sustainable solution for land issues on a countrywide
scale. For land acquisition, the changes in the 1894 policy legislation
have still not come about; and policy on relief and rehabilitation of displaced
persons, mostly farmers and tribals, remains inconsistent and
incoherent and lacks public conviction.
The Planning Commission is beginning work on the 12th Five-Year
Plan and environment and equitable sharing of natural resources are
now prominent concerns. India Inc. which is intent on project investment
and the state governments which are looking for more fiscal
bounties from enhanced industry will have to take eco sensitivity into
account and also ensure wider public approval by sharing gains equitably.
Then only the extremist Maoists' support base among the
deprived will get eroded, eco balances will be maintained, and economic
growth will progress into inclusive sustainable development.
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