Bhubaneswar, June 28 (ANI): Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik has said the decision to ban the participation of children in an anti-Posco protest was taken at the district administration level.
Talking to mediapersons here on Monday, Patnaik said: "These decisions are taken at the district administration level. These are routine decisions and I understand that it has been done a few times in the past as well."
Earlier, the Orissa Government has declared the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) dharna using children as human shields at Gobindpur unlawful after clamping Section 144 on the area.
"Prohibitory orders have been issued against gathering of the anti-project people at Gobindpur," said Paradip Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Saroj Kanta Choudhry.
The participation of women and children in the anti-POSCO protests had mounted huge pressure on the state government and had brought in a lot of criticism for them from human rights groups.
Posco had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with he Orissa Government in June 2005 for the 12-million-tonne-capacity steel plant to be built in three phases by 2016, with production scheduled to begin by the end of 2011 on the completion of the first phase.
However, from 2005, continuous local opposition delayed the project amid allegations that the union and state governments had been illegally trying to acquire land and forests for the project. (ANI)
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