Union Minister of State for Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said environmental clearance to a project should not be construed as a licence for forceful eviction of people.
Asked about the resistance to land acquisition for the Posco steel project in Orissa, Mr. Ramesh said acquisition should not be coercive. He hoped the Orissa government would exhibit sensitivity in dealing with the agitators and resolve the issue through a peaceful dialogue.
He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference on microfinance here on Tuesday. A Bill to pave the way for a new land acquisition policy, and a national relief and rehabilitation policy addressing the concerns of the displaced persons and protecting their rights, would be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament, he said.
Referring to illegal sand mining, he said it was sad that a seer of Haridwar, Swami Nigamanand, died after 115-day fast to stop quarrying in the Ganga. “I took up the issue with the Uttarakhand government 18 months ago. I wrote again to the State as minor minerals fall under the jurisdiction of the State government,” he said.
About the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh, he said a satisfactory solution should be found to prevent the submergence of villages in Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The Andhra Pradesh government proposed to construct a Rs.620-crore embankment wall to prevent the submergence of villages in Chattisgarh and Orissa. It was for those two States to take a decision, he added.
Replying to a question, he said that when many industrial projects were proposed in ecologically fragile areas, the Centre decided to go for cumulative environment impact assessment [EIA] of all the proposed units. “We started this in the Ratnagiri area in Maharashtra,” he said.
“I would request the A.P. government to do this cumulative EIA in Nellore and other districts where many projects were proposed,” he said.
