FAC is an autonomous body and we cannot interfere with that, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said a day after FAC's recommendation. A final decision on POSCO will be taken in the next few weeks, after reviewing coastal and environmental clearances of the project, he added. The steel plant requires about 1,619 hectare (ha), of which 1,173 ha is forestland. It will displace 471 families.
Source: Issue, December 15, 2010, Down To Earth, New Delhi.