To do this, he accepts the state government's claim that Dhinkia sarpanch Sisir Mahapatra fraudulently prepared documents to show that the majority of the villagers are opposed to the steel plant in their area.
Signatures of the villagers were forged and there is actually no major resistance to the POSCO plant, the state government asserts. “Faith and trust in what the state government says is an essential pillar of cooperative federalism," Ramesh says in his order. “Therefore, I hold that there has been no valid claim for recognition of forest rights in Dhinkia and Gobindpur as required under the Forest Rights Act, 2006."
A week after his ministry's nod for the plant purely based on state government assurances, the local administration announced that it will resume land acquisition from 18 May. Read the full report here.
Source: Rampal Kirpal, Editor, Tehelka Magazine.
