The year 2010 turned out to be a green year for Odisha, newly named so. The state saw the cancellation of two proposed mega projects -- $1.7 billion bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri and $3.5 billion university project on the Puri-Konark marine drive. Both the projects belong to the London listed Vedanta group, were nixed on grounds of serious violation of law.
Environment ministry canceled the Niyamgiri project following the NC Saxena Committee terming it illegal. The Committee in its report stated that Vedanta had flagrantly violated environmental and forest laws in active collusion with the state officials. The proposed project could hit the rights of two of the most endangered primitive tribal groups -- Dongria Kondh and Kutia Kondh.
In a second setback to Vedanta, Orissa High Court quashed the process of acquisition of 6,000 acre of agricultural land -- which includes 1,300 acre of arable land belonging to the Jagannath Temple -- for the Vedanta university project. The court made it clear that state government’s notifications made to award the land for the university project “illegal” and “bad in the eye of law”. The proposed project could hit at least 50,000 people across 22 villages of Puri district who depend primarily on agriculture. The project would have an extreme impact on eco-system.
The fate of Rs 54,000 crore POSCO project -- which happens to be the largest Foreign Direct Investment of the country -- hangs in balance on similar grounds. The majority view in Environment Ministry proposed for the cancellation of the project. At present the Supreme Court is looking into the case.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and his BJD are battling the allegations of selling the state’s riches to private firms at the cost of livelihood of the people. The Opposition knives are out with ugly scenes occurring in the state Assembly recently. A Congress lawmaker climbed onto the Speaker’s podium and lied down on it during an agitation in the well of the House.
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