Orissa Government today assured the Centre that there was no tribal inhabitant or any other traditional forest dwellers(OTFDs) living at the proposed POSCO plant site villages near Paradip.The State Chief Secretary, B K Patnaik told reporters in Bhubhaneshwar, that the state governement has submitted the assurance report to the union ministry of environment and forest. He said it maintained its earlier stand that there was no tribal or any other traditional forest dwellers living at the proposed plant site villages.While according conditional environmental clearance to POSCO's steel plant and captive port projects on January 31, Union Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh had sought a categorical assurance report from the state government that the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 were not violated in the proposed plant site villages.The ministry wanted to be assured that the FRA was not violated beacuse two of its committees had pointed out gross violation of FRA at the proposed plant site areas.
News On AIR | April 13, 2011 4:35 PM
No traditional forest dwellers in POSCO’s plant site: Orissa