Brazilian court listens to natives claims and suspends work on
Belo Monte dam A Brazilian federal court has ordered the
immediate suspension of work on the controversial Belo Monte
hydroelectric plant, ruling that indigenous communities were not
consulted. It was set to be the world's third-largest dam. The
Federal Regional Court of the First Region ruled on Tuesday that
native communities affected by the Belo Monte dam in the Amazon
must be heard before work resumes. It said that the
controversial project had been approved by the Brazilian
Congress in 2005 on the proviso that an environmental impact
study be conducted after work started. The court found that
indigenous people were not given the right to air their views in
Congress on the basis of the study's findings, as was stipulated
by law. Norte Energia, the construction company which is running
the project, faces fines of 250.000 dollars a day if it chooses
to ignore the ruling. It has the right to appeal the ruling in a
higher court. Construction began