The report of a sub-committee of the N.C. Saxena committee, which formed the basis of Mr Ramesh’s peremptory “stop work” order, has found niggling faults with the Posco land acquisition process. These objections, predictably, will be set aside in the coming months. But the delay is certain to give a fillip to the anti-Posco brigade, disrupt all schedules and even raise costs. These don’t concern Mr Ramesh. He is looking to create a situation whereby public faith in Mr Patnaik’s ability to manage Orissa’s development is called into question. More important, by seeking to identify Mr Patnaik with “big money”, he is aiming to hit at the chief minister’s credentials as a leader of unimpeachable integrity. This would explain why the inexplicable order on the Posco project has been carefully linked to the denial of bauxite mining rights to Vedanta in Niyamgiri hills.
In his triumphalist media interactions last Tuesday, Mr Ramesh made it seem that a pathetic Mr Patnaik had come to him pleading for Anil Agarwal. “I merely listened, smiled, and did not say anything”, he said with an air of smug superiority. The subtext was gin clear: “Who the hell is the Orissa CM?”
Mr Ramesh’s arrogance arises from two factors. First, by getting a member of the activists-dominated National Advisory Council to do his hatchet job, he has painted the war on Orissa as Sonia Gandhi’s project. Secondly, he carefully timed his decisions to coincide with Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Kalahandi. These are clear signals to the Prime Minister to refrain from protesting too much. Mr Ramesh’s admirers also say he has also got his own back on P. Chidambaram who once sat on Vedanta’s board of directors.
India needs to take environmental concerns seriously and follow laws — although laws can’t be applied retrospectively and goalposts can’t be constantly shifted. It’s also a great idea to institutionalise a local stake in the region’s future growth. But these causes aren’t going to be served by converting the environment ministry into an instrument of blackmail and recrimination. Indira Gandhi used planning to settle political scores and dish out favours. Environment clearances are turning out to be the new instruments of political control in a market economy. Today it is Orissa; tomorrow it will be another non-Congress state.
Swapan Dasgupta is a senior journalist
In his triumphalist media interactions last Tuesday, Mr Ramesh made it seem that a pathetic Mr Patnaik had come to him pleading for Anil Agarwal. “I merely listened, smiled, and did not say anything”, he said with an air of smug superiority. The subtext was gin clear: “Who the hell is the Orissa CM?”
Mr Ramesh’s arrogance arises from two factors. First, by getting a member of the activists-dominated National Advisory Council to do his hatchet job, he has painted the war on Orissa as Sonia Gandhi’s project. Secondly, he carefully timed his decisions to coincide with Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Kalahandi. These are clear signals to the Prime Minister to refrain from protesting too much. Mr Ramesh’s admirers also say he has also got his own back on P. Chidambaram who once sat on Vedanta’s board of directors.
India needs to take environmental concerns seriously and follow laws — although laws can’t be applied retrospectively and goalposts can’t be constantly shifted. It’s also a great idea to institutionalise a local stake in the region’s future growth. But these causes aren’t going to be served by converting the environment ministry into an instrument of blackmail and recrimination. Indira Gandhi used planning to settle political scores and dish out favours. Environment clearances are turning out to be the new instruments of political control in a market economy. Today it is Orissa; tomorrow it will be another non-Congress state.
Swapan Dasgupta is a senior journalist
Read the full story by Swapan Dasgupta in Deccan Chronicle :Source URL:
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/climatic-arthashastra-746
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/climatic-arthashastra-746
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