A woman sits at her betel vineyard at Gobindpur in Jagatsinghpur district. (PTI)

Cuttack, July 20: Legal battle over the proposed Posco steel plant in Orissa High Court has turned into a dispute that centres round the question as to whether the Forests Rights Act, 2006, is applicable to any of the communities in the project area.

The court has been adjudicating on petitions challenging the forest clearance granted for the Posco project for violation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2008, and land acquisition proceedings.

Nishakar Khatua and five others of Govindpur-Dhinkia-Nuagaon had filed two separate writ petitions seeking judicial intervention to “prevent loss of their property and livelihood which is in the process of being violated and taken away by force by the state government and the Idco”.

The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V.Gopala Gowda, which had been hearing arguments on the issue for nearly a week now, reserved judgment on the legality of the forest clearance today. It will start hearing on the validity of land acquisition proceedings on Monday. The bench had been hearing the case after normal court hours since yesterday.

Counsel for the petitioners had forwarded arguments pointing out that two independent investigation committees (one headed by former planning commission member N.C. Saxena and another by former ministry of environment and forest’s secretary Meena Gupta) had concluded violation of Forest Rights Act in the project area.

The Forest Advisory Committee, a statutory review body of the MoEF, had also concluded the same and recommended withdrawal of order for diversion of 1253.225 hectares of forestland.

The project is proposed to be established in 1620.49 hectares. This includes 1253.22 hectares of forestland. There are at least 3,575 families who will be allegedly affected in terms of livelihood and face displacement by the diversion of the forestland.

State government had countered by claiming approval for diversion of 1253.225 hectares forestland by the MoEF is subject to fulfilment of all required terms and conditions.

The local communities do not have any rights conferred under the Forest Rights Act, the state counsel had claimed.

The Central government counsel had contended that the approval was based on assurance by the state government that rights endowed under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, does not apply to the communities affected by the project.

As the state government has the primary responsibility for ensuring and guaranteeing compliance with the Forest Rights Act, 2006, it was asked to give categorical assurance that none of those claiming to be depending on or cultivating land in the Posco project area fulfil any of the three conditions required to be considered as Other Traditional Forest Dweller (OTFD).

For being considered as OTFD, they should have primarily resided in the forest for 75 years prior to December 13, 2005, or should be, at present, dependent on the forest or forestland for bona fide livelihood needs, or should have been in occupation of the forestland before December 13, 2005, it was clarified on behalf of the MoEF.