Majority Report of the Committee Constituted to ... - Forest Rights Act

integrated with a wider understanding of the social, environmental and economic requirements of
the country. It is possible to argue that the current regulatory framework is flawed, or that it
does not approach these goals. But it is not permissible to bypass it, for to do so would – aside
from the damage caused by any particular project – undermine the entire regulatory framework
of our state machinery and reduce the ability of our society to channel its resources for social
good.
For these reasons, it is also important that this regulatory framework be understood as a cohesive
whole, and compliance with it should be evaluated in such a manner as to achieve that goal. This
is the approach we have followed in this report. We have not attempted to artificially read down
regulations or the law in order to reduce requirements, or to find loopholes by which
requirements can be bypassed. Rather, we seek to fulfill our mandate to review this project in a
manner that complies with the overall goals of both environment and development.
Indeed, it is precisely because the scale of the POSCO project is so large that it must be
subjected to examination and regulation in a comprehensive, just and impartial manner, for the
potential impacts are just as large. Moreover, as a precedent-setting project, the manner in which
this case is handled could have a bearing on many future projects as well. It is for this reason
that this committee feels that a detailed examination of legal compliance is not merely a
requirement of law, nor merely a procedural safeguard, but is crucial to preventing wider damage
and to ensuring future compliance as well. This report seeks to undertake such an examination.