Odisha seeks transfer of forest clearance from Posco to JSW

The Odisha government will recommend to the Centre the transfer of forest clearance (FC) granted to the scrapped Posco steel project in the name of JSW Steel. JSW plans to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant at the same site abandoned by the South Korean firm.

The move is expected to save JSW the hassles of getting a fresh forest clearance for its ~550 billion venture. The lengthy process of getting the clearance would have pegged the project back by 57 years, besides subjecting it to the scrutiny of gram sabha, a pre-requisite for the ministry for environment and forest (MoEF) to allow diversion of forest land for other purposes.

Given the tedious process of holding a gram sabha and the track record of local opposition to the Posco project, the mandatory need of getting their approval for forest diversion seemed a major bottleneck in the early implementation of the JSW project.

JSW has been allotted 2,900 acres at a site near Paradip to set up a 12 million tonne steel plant. The state’s land acquisition agency, Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco), had acquired the plot for a steel project of similar size by Posco before the South Korean firm scrapped the plan two years ago.

More than 2,500 of the 2,900 acres are categorised as forest land. Though the Posco project had got the Centre’s nod for diversion of forest land, with the FCs running concurrent to a specific project, it was anticipated that JSW may go for a fresh FC for the same area.

“Though FCs are generally project specific, there is also the provision that an FC can be transferred in the name of another project if the nature of the project is similar and the location is same,” said an official of the state industry department.

Here, JSW proposes to set up a 12 million tonne steel mill in phases, the same as Posco at the same location. While Posco pegged the capacity of its first module at 4 million tonne, JSW intends to set up a 5 million tonne steel mill in the first phase.

Pending the FC matter, Idco, meanwhile, has transferred 462 acres of non-forest land at the project site in the name of JSW.

The JSW project, however, has to go through the process of public hearing at the project site for environment clearance (EC) as its validity granted to Posco has expired. Besides, the change of technology and other project parameters necessitate a fresh EC for the JSW project, sources said.