The judge's decision was in response to a request by the Federal Public Prosecution Service (MPF), and halts the public consultation process scheduled to be held in the municipal districts of Altamira and Vitória of Xingu.
MPF alleged that the environmental impact studies for the Belo Monte power station was not complete and that it did not follow regulatory procedures. The judge ruled that activities potentially harmful to the environment in lands owned by aboriginal groups could only be authorised by the National Congress, after consultation with indigenous communities.
The reservoir impounded by the Belo Monte project is expected to submerge approximately 200km2 of aboriginal land. Critics of the project say the reservoir will displace thousands of aboriginal people and that the estimated benefits from power production are somewhat optimistic, as the plant's production will be severely curtailed during five months of the Amazon dry season.
