The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has said in a new order on Tuesday that status quo must be maintained at the proposed Posco steel plant site in Jagatsinghpur district. The order will halt any further felling of trees by the state government for clearing the site for the proposed plant.

"It is contended before us now that large numbers of trees are being felled by the project proponent without the permission of any competent authority... We direct that status quo with regard to cutting trees as of today shall be maintained," said the NGT order. The tribunal will hear the matter on 11 July, 2013.

A five-member bench of the tribunal noted that the NGT had suspended the environmental clearance (EC) for the project while hearing petition of Lok Shakti Abhiyan president Prafulla Samantara on 18 May, 2013. The tribunal said that as the ministry of environment and forests has not passed an order in the matter, the environmental clearance (EC) for the project is still suspended.

The central government is looking to review the plans by South Korean steel major Posco to invest Rs. 52,000 crore in plants in the state of Odisha. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has said that the government is committed to ensure that the project takes off smoothly. He had recently assured South Korean government that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is monitoring the project and the government is looking for speedy implantation of the project.