Posco gets clearance for billion dollar steel plant

August 9, 2008	(Be the first to rate this story!)  Loading ...
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Posco, Asia’s top steel producer got clearance from India’s top court on Friday for a $12 billion plant in Orissa. The plant to be built by Posco, in the resource-rich eastern coastal state of Orissa would be the biggest foreign direct investment in India since it launched market reforms in 1991.

The case was seen as controversial as it pitted farmers’ interests against growing industrial development. The plant, which aims to create 18,000 jobs in a poverty-ridden part of the country over the next decade, had stirred violent protests by farmers objecting to loss of their land.

In Orissa, Dongria Kondh tribal Jitu Jakaka, said: “We are deeply connected with the mountain… our sacred place. It is home to our god Niyamraja. “The ruling has no bearing on our struggle. We’ll continue our fight against Posco. We’ll never give up our land,” said Abhoy Sahu, head of the group spearheading the protests against the steel project. London-based Survival International director Stephen Corry called the ruling “a devastating blow to all of India’s tribal peoples.”

The government has been keen to draw foreign and domestic investment to create job-generating industries. But the shift from agriculture has stirred big debates and often violent local opposition as many projects encroach on farm or tribal land. This case was seen as an important test of tribal and environmental rights against industrialization.

Seoul-based Posco welcomed the court ruling and said it would proceed swiftly with the project, initially agreed in 2005, requiring 4,000 acres of land. The company has a “firm commitment to the project” and is determined to move ahead “at full speed,” said Posco India senior general manager Vikash Sharan.

News Published Under:   Real Estate India |

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