There is nothing in the order, including stipulating action in consonance with the Forests Rights Act, that could not have been said or sought earlier from the project authorities and the state government. Precious time has been lost considering that initial clearance for this 12 million tonne, $12 billion project was given in July 2007, after a MoU was signed with the South Korean Pohang Steel Company in 2005. The subsequent Forest Rights Act, retrospectively applied, was to undo earlier approvals as in the case of the Vedanta aluminum project.
One clear lesson is that piecemeal, stop-go clearances and incremental approvals, subject to revision in the context of future legislation, constitute an appallingly clumsy and muddled way of doing business. This inspires no confidence and can only undermine the credibility of governance. Read the full report here.
Source: B.G. Verghese, Deccan Herald.
