The Steel Ministry on Wednesday said it may seek from the Environment Ministry speedy clearance to Posco’s Rs 54,000-crore project in Orissa.
“If the need be, we will take up the matter with the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the speedy clearance of Posco’s Orissa project,” Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh told reporters.
Steel Secretary Atul Chaturvedi said that the issue regarding Posco’s 12 MTPA steel plant in Orissa could be resolved in a month’s time.
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“Posco issue would get resolved soon, may be in a month’s time,” Mr. Chaturvedi said on the sidelines of a summit here.
The statement comes amid the Union Environment Ministry asking the Orissa government to stop land acquisition process for the Posco project, saying it is in the violation of certain green norms. Posco requires a total of 4,004 acres of land to build a steel plant with an annual production capacity of 12 million tonnes in Jagatsinghpur district of Orissa.
The project has been delayed for over 4 years now, mainly due to protests against land acquisition, as 2,963 acres out of the total land acquired falls under the forest cover.
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