Posco steel project gets green clearance

The Union Environment Ministry has finally given the clearance to $12.6 billion Posco's steel plant - the nation's largest FDI so far. 
 

Points to remember:

• The South Korean steel giant Posco got this approval after 8 long years after they agreed to delink the port project from the steel one at the government insistence.
• Though It still requires forest clearance from National Green Tribunal to finally become a reality.
• The breakthrough has come at an additional cost of $600 million (5 percent of the total investment) which the company has promised to spend on "social commitments".
• The project, to come up at Jagatsinghpur In Odisha, has been stuck since 2005 due to problems related to environmental clearance and land acquisition. 
• The proposed plant will have the installed capacity of producing mammoth 12 million tons annually.

No cheer for Vedanta:

• Vedanta’s bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri Hills of Odisha has been rejected by the 12 village councils of Dongriya Kondh tribal groups.
• The tribe performs their customary and religious rituals at the project site which they view as holy.
• The Supreme Court had left the final decision on village councils to decide the fate of the project.

Note:

• It seems slowing GDP growth amidst spectre of debacle in the upcoming general election has put the central government in fast-forward mode to clear pending economic projects.
• Environment minister Veerappa Moily has cleared around 15 projects since taking over from Jayanthi Natarajan in December 2013.