To be certain that the villagers in the Posco project area are not eligible as Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) under the Forest Rights Act, Environment minister Jairam Ramesh asked the Orissa government to assure him that they did not fulfil at least one of the following three conditions: 1. They should have primarily resided in the forest for 75 years prior to 13 December, 2005. 2. They should be, at present, dependent on forest or forest land for bona fide livelihood needs. 3. They should have been in occupation of the forest land before 13 December, 2005. Wary that the state government will misrepresent facts, the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) wrote to Ramesh, referring to the majority conclusion of the Meena Gupta panel: "The Committee finds that the government's own records such as census reports and voters list confirm that there are both Other Traditional Forest Dwellers and forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes in the project area and the statement of the District Collector of Jagatsinghpur to the contrary is false." The PPSS further pointed out that: • Revenue maps of the villages of Dhinkia, Govindpur and Nuagaon from the 1927-1928 revenue settlement clearly establish that these villages existed, were surrounded by forests and were cultivating lands in this forest area. • The Survey of India map of the area from 1928-1929 confirms the revenue maps. • Families in the village have documentary evidence in the form of fines and cess receipts in the names of their ancestors for use of forest produce from prior to 1930. • Cultivation and occupation of forest land for self-cultivation by these villagers is acknowledged by the rehabilitation plan. • Collection of minor forest produce is a standard practice in the area. Claims for community rights over such produce were filed in Nuagaon, Dhinkia and Govindpur in August 2010. • The Posco MoU came into force in June 2005 and the villagers were obviously in occupation of the land on that date. • The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), the statutory body to look into forest clearances, also noted that "the Meena Gupta Committee report clearly indicates a lack of diligence in settlement of forest rights and unless the state government provides evidence of their serious intent for following observance of due process of law, it appears to the FAC that this is a breach of law." Yet, Ramesh blindly bought the state government's assurance and denied thousands of people their rights. Rights Wronged