Bhubaneswar: The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) will submit a report on Tata Steel Sukinda Chrome mines today. Last month a special forest bench headed by justice A.K.Pattnaik had ordered the CEC to submit the report on the issue of giving forest clearance to the mines for lease renewal. The Court will take its decision on the basis of the report.
On first week of April the Supreme Court had extended the temporary work permit till 9th of this month or the next hearing of the case. The temporary work permit of one year granted last was to expire on April 12th.
A senior official at the company has informed that the company had requested the Court for grant of urgent and immediate relief to continue production at the Sukinda Chrome mines in Odisha. After hearing the plea of the court had allowed the company mining till 9th of May. However, the company is confident that it’ll be allowed to mine till disposal of the case at the SC.
The Sukinda chromite mine is spread over 406 hectares, including 106 acres of forest land. The lease validity for 20 years lapsed on January 11, 2013.
The division forest officer (DFO) of Jajpur on January 11, 2013, had told Tata Steel to stop mining in Sukinda in the absence of valid temporary working permit/forest clearance. The company had challenged the order in the SC, which had on February 1 last year stayed the notice till the MoEF took a final decision on the basis of a forest advisory committee report recommending grant of temporary working permit to Tata Steel. In March 2013 the company had managed to get a temporary work permit for a year which had expired on 12th of April 2014.
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