The three-member National Forest Rights Act Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF) headed by Ashish Kothari, the State government had not followed the procedure as per the Forest Rights Act in the POSCO project to be established near Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district Mr Kothari, told media person that the villagers had alleged that Orissa government had violated the Act by not inviting any Palli Sabha meeting in the three Gram Panchayats of Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon in Jagatsinghpur district and take approval to make non-forestry activities like setting up POSCO steel plant in the forest land.

The team visited the villages at the proposed POSCO sites and interacted with the villagers of Dhinkia, Gobindpur, Nuagaon Gadkujang and Nolishai likely to be affected in the steel plant project by the South Korea steel major POSCO.

He said the committee members were told by the villagers that they have been residing in the proposed POSCO sites since 1920, cultivating betel vine in the forest land and depending for various purpose.

Mr Kothari, said though these people were not coming under schedule tribe category but were eligible to be treated as the other traditional forest dwellers under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of forest Rights)Act, 2006.

UNI