Patnaik meets PM, seeks assurance on industrial projects

PATNAIK-PM

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) Prime Minister of India
Manmohan Singh on Monday assured the Orissa government of
faster clearances to various projects facing delays in the
state, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.
Patnaik, facing heat from the Centre over mining projects
in his state, met Singh and raised concerns over the delay in
environment clearances to projects like the Posco steel
project and Vedanta bauxite mining initiative.
"I discussed about Posco and told him (Prime Minister)
that work ought not be stopped," he said.
"The Prime Minister said that he would certainly see that
this matter is taken up and give a push to the project. He
said it should be expedited," Patnaik said when asked about
the delay in the Korean steel giant Posco's multi-crore
project in Orissa.
Asked about the delays in Vedanta's bauxite mining
project, the chief minister said that his government has given
its response to the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
"Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is meeting me and the
issue would be discussed then," he said.
Patnaik said the Prime Minister assured him on the
Polavaram dam project in Andhra Pradesh, saying that none of
the tribal villages in Orissa would be submerged.
Patnaik's meeting with the Prime Minister comes in the
wake of Environment Ministry appointed N C Saxena Committee's
adverse remarks on Posco and Vedanta projects.
The Saxena panel had found serious violations in the
provisions of environmental clearance and the Environment
Protection Act by Vedanta.
One such violation related to the unauthorised expansion
of its capacity from one million tonne a year to six million
tons.
The expansion had no environment clearance and Vedanta is
said to have ignored repeated notices sent by the Orissa
Pollution Control Board to stop work, the Committee said.
The committee, which investigated alleged violations of
environmental laws by Vedanta, also accused the company of
illegally occupying forest land for its USD 1.7 billion
project. PTI SGI
AHM


The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain
proprietary, confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify
the sender immediately and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments
contained in it.