The acquisition of land for the project will destroy the thriving local economy and the livelihoods of thousands of local residents, and will result in the effective displacement of the area's 22,000 residents. Many of those at risk of displacement are farmers who have cultivated plots of land for generations, yet many of them do not possess formal title. Although many villagers have applied to have their claims over forest lands recognized under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, the process is rife with red tape, and residents have met with limited success.

 Thousands of non-residents - including Dalits - who participate actively in the local economy also stand to lose their source of income. The proposed port threatens access to the sea, which provides food and jobs for residents and non-residents alike. Some reports indicate that the livelihoods of as many as 20,000-25,000 local fishermen stand to be negatively affected by the project. Thousands more stand to be affected at the proposed mining site in Odisha's Khandadhar Hills, Sundargarh district, which are popular with local tourists for their beauty and powerful waterfalls. The area's Khandadhar forest is also home to the Paudi Bhuiyans, a vulnerable indigenous (tribal) group that sustains itself from the forest, either by cultivating rice and indigenous lentils and grains on fixed plots of land, or by practicing a shifting agriculture method known as podu

Actions taken by the Government of India to promote the POSCO-India project have resulted in the violation of a range of human rights - including economic, social and cultural rights . Mounting social conflict around the project has lead to numerous acts of violence against people opposing the POSCO steel plant, leading to multiple injuries and several deaths. People living in project-affected communities have been effectively trapped in their villages by ongoing threats of violence and baseless arrests and the continued police presence in their area. Living in a state of siege, they face substantial barriers to their ability to work, access health care, educational facilities or other essential services.  This has also disrupted local social and cultural practices, impeding people from attending weddings or religious events or maintaining other social ties.

Ongoing and systematic human rights violations are taking place in the area proposed for the integrated steel plant and captive port, as well as in POSCO-India's Transit Camp. There is evidence of significant and ongoing attempts to illegally evict people from their lands, as well as serious abuses against individuals and communities who are resisting forced eviction and defending their human rights.

Human Rights Violations in Project-Affected Communities:  Indian authorities have targeted people who speak out against the POSCO-India project with violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions. Police forces have barricaded villages, occupied schools, leveled thousands of fabricated criminal charges against individuals opposing the project, and failed to protect individuals from attacks by project supporters. As a result of these abuses, for the past eight years, entire communities in the project-affected area have been living under siege and have suffered clear violations of their rights to security of person and freedom of movement. The right to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention, and the right to be free from discrimination-particularly on the basis of political or other opinion, have also been violated. This has also affected a host of economic and social rights, including the right to work, health, education, and food.  Generally, should the project move forward as planned, displaced communities face a serious risk of impoverishment, which in turn would undermine a range of human rights and their ability to live a life of dignity.

Human Rights Violations in Transit Camp:Since leaving their villages, the fifty-two families currently residing in the POSCO-India transit camp have suffered dramatic declines in their enjoyment of the right to adequate housing, food, water, health, education, and work. Residents live in cramped one-room homes with roofs containing asbestos. The houses fail to protect residents heat and rain and pose serious health risks. While they previously enjoyed access to abundant, clean water in their villages, residents now share one tubewell and complain of irritation to the throat and skin upon contact with the water. The sanitary facilities are limited and in poor condition, and women and girls lack privacy when bathing. According to an official investigation of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Indian authorities have failed to ensure access, by residents in the Transit Camp, to essential health care, educational, and child welfare services, which has had an acute impact on children residing in the camp. Relocation to the Transit Camp-located far from work opportunities or land on which to farm-has impoverished residents and pushed previously self-sufficient families into economic dependence. Without sufficient employment opportunities they are forced to rely on a daily allowance provided by POSCO: Rs. 20 (approximately US$0.33) per person, an amount that is grossly insufficient to meet their needs and the needs of their families. There is no public evidence to suggest that POSCO has attempted to rectify the sub-standard living conditions in the Transit Camp.

Anticipated additional human rights threats if the project goes forward
If the POSCO project in Odisha proceeds as planned, and the forcible acquisition of lands results in the anticipated displacement and evictions, project-affected people will face serious threats to their ability to realize the right to food, right to adequate housing, the right to health, right to education and the right to work. The Government of India and POSCO have failed to guarantee compensation that is adequate in nature and scope and effectively guards against impoverishment and serious declines in the standard of living of people affected by the project.

Women living in the project-affected villages have been severely affected by the repression of people opposing the POSCO-India project. They have been the targets of violet attacks and have suffered serious medical problems as a result of their inability to access adequate health care facilities. Women and girls who are members of project-displaced households living in the POSCO-India Transit Camp have suffered severe declines in their living standards, including the inability to bathe or use sanitary facilities in privacy.

Women residing in project-affected communities have expressed concerns that the POSCO-India project will contribute to a gender gap in employment opportunities. Betel leaf cultivation, the mainstay of the local economy, employs both men and women and allows all adult members of the community work under conditions of equality. While individuals and families displaced or affected by the POSCO-India project will be eligible for employment in the steel plant, families may only nominate one person to be considered for employment. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) Committee on the POSCO-India project noted that it is likely that women and young people will largely be overlooked for employment in the steel plant because they lack the skills and education necessary to get jobs with POSCO-India. Although the project authority must make "special efforts to facilitate skill up-gradation of the nominated member of the displaced family to make him/her ‘employable'," it is not clear how these efforts would sufficiently eliminate a gender gap in employment opportunities.

The POSCO-India project has given rise to significant concerns related to the diversion of the local water supply and to environmental impacts, including potentially irreversible effects on endangered species and on coastal sand dunes that act as natural barriers against powerful storms. Many species of animals live and breed in the area's waters, lush estuaries, and dense forest.

The construction of the proposed plant and port threatens the area's unique biodiversity.  The site of the proposed captive port includes beaches, which serve as a nesting site for over 100,000 endangered olive ridley turtles every year, one of only three such sites worldwide and the only site in the Eastern Hemisphere. Ecologically important horse shoe crabs also depend on the sediment along the coast in the port area, and fish and shrimps use the estuaries and coastal waters as breeding grounds. There also exist well-founded concerns regarding air pollution and the diversion of water resources. POSCO has already received approval from Odisha's Department of Water Resources for the daily withdrawal of 10 million gallons of water from sources that supply drinking and irrigation water to the nearby cities and districts. The construction of the proposed plant and port will also destroy the coastal sand dunes that act as natural barriers against powerful storms, the removal of which would leave the area more exposed to the harmful effects of powerful storms.

In March, 2012, India's National Green Tribunal  ("NGT") suspended the environmental clearance granted to POSCO due to serious inaccuracies with the company's environmental impact assessments. A final determination by this Tribunal is expected in September of 2013.