Orissa HC stays alienation of forest-classified land for JSW steel project

Orissa HC stays alienation of forest-classified land for JSW steel project

Subject: Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context: The National Green Tribunal recently suspended environmental clearances granted to the mega steel project.

Background of the News:

• Villagers had moved the Orissa High Court, stating that the Tahsildar of Erasama had initiated land alienation under the Orissa Government Land Settlement Act, 1962without settling their rights under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
• High Court lawyer, had contended that Sub-section(5) in Section 4 of Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 says no Scheduled Tribe (ST) or other traditional forest dweller shall be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
• The petitioners submitted that between 2009 and 2013, the Odisha Government had forcibly taken over the possession of 2,700 acres of forest land for a mega steel plant proposed by South Korean steel major POSCO by deploying police force near the port town of Paradip.
• Due to widespread opposition by the people, POSCO had shelved the project in 2017.
• Instead of returning the land to the people, the State government, through the Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) had constructed boundary walls around ‘illegally’ acquired forest land, they pointed out. When the JSW Group proposed the establishment of a steel plant on the same place, the same patch of land was decided to be handed over to the company.
• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had approved the transfer of the final forest clearance for 1,083.69 Ha (2,677.85 acres) of forest area out of 1,253.225 Ha (3,096.78 acres) in favour of the JSW Group.
• A Division Bench of the Orissa HC, directed for the purpose of alienation of lands pending with the office of the Tahsildar, Erasama, that there must first be compliance with requirements of Forest Right Act.
• Till compliance of the requirements, including recognition of traditional forest dwellers, is complete as filed in the lease cases, they will remain stayed, said Orissa HC