SC nod for Posco's Rs 51,000-cr plant in Orissa

The Supreme Court on Friday permitted South Korean steel major Posco to set up Rs 51,000-crore mega steel plant and captive minor port in Paradeep, Orissa. A special environmental bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan allowed Posco India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Korea-based Posco, to go ahead with its plans. With this order, the apex court has also cleared forest diversion proposal for the plant site which require 1253.225 hectares of forest land. The court while directing the Orissa government to dispose of all the Posco's applications seeking prospecting licences within four weeks it also asked the state to send its recommendations to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which would proceed in accordance with law. The bench also asked the state government to undertake implementation of compensatory... [read full story]