India: Global NGO and grassroots movement urge banks to withdraw from Odisha steel project over forest land grabs and environmental harm
Summary
Date Reported: 4 May 2025
Location: India
Companies
ANZ Bank - Investor , Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (part of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group) - Investor , Mizuho Bank Ltd - Investor , Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - Investor , JSW Steel - ClientAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Indigenous peoples: ( Number unknown - India , Metals & steel , Gender not reported ) , Human Rights Defender: ( Number unknown - India , Metals & steel , Gender not reported )Issues
Human rights monitoring , Indigenous Peoples , Land Rights , Impacts on Livelihoods , Free, prior & informed consent , Water pollution , Soil pollution , Deforestation , Protests , Human Rights Defenders , Air pollution , Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discrimination , Freedom of Movement , Torture & Ill-treatment , Protection from arbitrary arrest, detention or exileResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
"Environmental concern? Global NGO leads campaign urging banks to cut ties with Odisha steel project'', 4 May 2025
A decade after the withdrawal of the South Korean multinational POSCO from Odisha following large-scale protests, questions remain about whether India-based JSW Steel, which took over the project, can successfully revive the 13.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) steel plant and coal-fired power plant. ..The issue has resurfaced amid a renewed grassroots campaign, supported by the global NGO BankTrack, which argues that the 2,677.80 acres of forest land acquired for the project should be returned to local communities rather than retained by the state government. The Anti-Jindal & Anti-POSCO Movement (JPPSS) has filed a complaint with Australian bank ANZ and Japanese banks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Mizuho, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), urging them to withdraw financing from the Rs 65,000 crore (USD 7.8 billion) JSW Utkal Steel project, which includes a 900 MW captive coal power plant.
...
The complaint, filed with BankTrack’s support, alleges human rights violations linked to JSW Steel and calls on the banks to cease further financial involvement until an independent investigation and remedial process is completed. It highlights that between 2019 and 2024, these banks issued multiple loans to JSW Steel, during which time the company allegedly acquired land without the consent of indigenous residents, undermined livelihoods, and collaborated with the state to suppress opposition.
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BankTrack reports that constructing the Utkal project involves clear-cutting hundreds of acres of forest, with photographic evidence suggesting this has already begun without environmental clearance. ..The NGO further warns that the plant would extract large volumes of water from the Mahanadi river for industrial cooling, while discharging pollutants that threaten the river’s quality. ..Since 2022, several human rights defenders—including Narendra Mohanty, Debendra Swain, Muralidhar Sahoo, and others—have been arrested in connection with peaceful opposition to the project ..Protests continue, with residents of Dhinkia village marking the third anniversary of a police crackdown by observing a Black Day earlier this year.