By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, February 6, 2022: The proposed mega steel project of JSW at Dhinkia in Jagatsinghpur district might also have to face the same fate as that of POSCO as for the third time, the project has been denied environmental clearance at the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) meeting.

The EAC of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is understood to have suggested the company to submit as many as ten documents including a detailed report on land acquisition apart from a corrected map of the plant excluding the high tide areas and sand dunes.

The company has been suggested to submit a report regarding the construction of the road and the damage to sand dunes in the proposed area. This apart, a report on re-usage of water from iron ore slurry pipelines and steps for compensatory afforestation for 1.3 lakh trees to be felled for the proposed project has also been sought from JSW.

Besides, the EAC has also suggested the company to submit an undertaking not to carry out any types of construction works in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area. The strict regulations of the Environment Ministry are likely to force JSW to abandon the project, experts said. This new development has also provides the Opposition parties ammunition to attack on the BJD government for being in a tearing hurry to facilitate the JSW to set up its project.

Now with the information relating to denial of environmental clearance to the JSW trickling in, the Opposition parties have started cornering the government.

Senior BJP leader Bibhuprasad Tarai criticised the Odisha government saying “The viewpoints supposed by the company as well as the government to set up a plant are elusive here. Now it feels extremely unfortunate the way the state government used the police force to destroy lives and livelihood in the area.”

In a caustic rant, Congress leader Lalatendu Mohapatra demanded the State government to explain as to why it is so adamant to set up of the plant by taking away ancestral lands of the people through sheer force particularly when necessary permission for the project has not been granted.

In fact with MoU being not signed nor has the company obtained the environmental clearance for the project, questions are being raised on how the project work was going on? How and why did the administration destroy crores worth of vineyards of local farmers without even verifying the JSW’s papers?