Orissa moves Supreme Court over POSCO mining

Bhubaneswar, Oct 29 (IANS) Orissa Friday moved the Supreme Court against an Orissa High Court order that disapproved its grant of permission to South Korean steel major POSCO to mine iron ore in Sundergarh district, a state minister said.

‘The state government has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court today (Friday) against the high court order,’ Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty told IANS.

‘The state steel and mines department had recommended the Khandadhar mines in favour of POSCO as per the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. There was no violation,’ he said.

A bench of the Orissa High Court July 14 set aside the state government permission to POSCO for prospecting iron ore in over 2,500 hectares in the Khandadhar hills in the state’s Sundergarh.