Govt committee gives divided opinion on Posco

Uncertainty continued over Posco's Orissa steel plant project on Monday with a government committee to assess violation of forest laws giving a divided opinion -- one suggesting cancellation of all green clearances while the other calling for in-depth environmental assessment.

Both the reports submitted by the committee, however, agreed that provisions under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) need to be re-looked at by the Orissa government on the USD 12-billion plant.

The four-member committee comprising Meena Gupta, Urmila Pingle, Devendra Pandey and V Suresh submitted two different reports on Posco's proposal to set up an integrated steel plant and a captive port in Orissa.

While Pingle, Pandey and Suresh submitted a joint report, Gupta gave a separate one.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the Forest Advisory Committee would meet on October 25 to examine both the reports and give its recommendations.