Posco: Nod likely if corrective steps taken

The $12-billion project in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa is the single biggest foreign investment in the country and its success is considered crucial for India’s image as a friendly destination for foreign investment.

When contacted,Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said a solution could only be found within the framework of India’s environmental laws. “I am acutely conscious of the larger strategic importance of the Posco project. I hope some way will be found out in accordance with the law of the land,” he said.

His ministry had,on Friday,ordered the Orissa government to stop all work relating to the project because an expert committee had found violations of the Forest Rights Act. The project involves diversion of over 1,253 hectares of forest land for the purpose of constructing an integrated steel plant with an annual production capacity of 12 million tonnes.