The plant, proposed by South Korea's Posco, has been in the works for years. It already has been cleared by the environment ministry, which Mr. Ramesh runs, and endorsed by the prime minister's office.
But Mr. Ramesh shocked the political and industrial establishment here in August by publicly putting the project on hold while he investigated reports that the rights of people living in the forest had been violated. Two committees he appointed to look into the matter have concluded that Posco broke environmental laws and failed to obtain the go-ahead for development from forest dwellers, as required by law.
Now, Mr. Ramesh must decide whether this merits killing a massive infrastructure project.
"If the minister of environment and forests is not going to implement the laws that are the acts of Parliament, what is he going to do?" Mr. Ramesh said in a November interview in his office, one of several conversations with The Wall Street Journal. Read the full report here.
Source: by Geeta Anand, The Wall Street Journal, New Delhi.
