New Delhi - India's Supreme Court Friday approved two
controversial mining and steel projects in the eastern state of
Orissa that were delayed owing to protests from tribal people and
farmers, media reports said.
The court in New Delhi allowed British metal and mining group
Vedanta Resources to go ahead with its 800-million-dollar bauxite
mining project in the Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district in
south-western Orissa, the NDTV network reported.
The apex court had barred the company from mining in November
following protests by the Dongria Kondh tribe who consider the
Niyamgiri hills sacred.
A three-judge bench headed by Indian Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan
said the group will have to pay 10 per cent of its profits or 100
million rupees (2.4 million dollars) - whichever is more - for the
welfare of the tribe.
Tribal activists are against the project, saying the mines will
force locals from their homes and divest them of their livelihoods.
Environmentalists also oppose the project on grounds that it would
damage the ecology of the region.
The Supreme Court also gave a nod to plans by the South Korean
steel firm Posco to acquire land for its 12-billion-dollar plant in
Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district.
The world's fourth-largest steelmaker will now have access to
3,000 acres (about 1,200 hectares) of forest land in addition 1,000
acres it obtained earlier, the report said.
The Posco project, which is India's largest foreign investment,
has been delayed since the company signed an agreement with the state
government in 2005, owing to opposition from farmers angry over being
displaced from their lands.
Although both companies have welcomed the Supreme Court ruling,
local media reported that the decisions were being viewed with
resentment by the tribal people and farmers, who were likely to step
up their protests in the coming days.
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