NewDelhi: The
National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to Essar Steel for alleged
violation of green norms. The green bench constituting of NGT chairman justice
A.S.Naidu & expert member P.C.Mishra has issued this notice and has
directed the company to respond to the notice on February 6 next year.
The company has
been planning to transport iron ore through pipeline from Keonjhar to its plant
site at Paradeep using the Vaiarani River water. Protesting this Sarbeswar
Mishra and Murlidhar Sharma of the “Vaitarani Bachao Andolan†had filed a
petition in the NGT.
The bench has observed
that the company has violated the terms and conditions of the MoU with the
Odisha Government by continue mining and using the river water without the
Environmental Clearance and directed the company to stop the project work till
getting the environmental and forest clearance.
The company has
signed MoU with the state government in 2005, April 21 to set up a steel plant
at Paradeep, a 10.7 mtpa iron ore beneficiation plan at Dubuna,Keonjhar and a
253 km slury pipeline to transport iron ore from Dubuna to Paradeep.
A
separate petition was also filed against the Bramani River Pellet Ltd (BRPL) on
the same issue. However the company has claimed that it has all the clearances
to continue with the project.
Reported by Tapan Moharana
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