SC allows Lafarge to continue mining

While giving a nod to the company8217;s mining operations, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the French cement giant Lafarge to ensure livelihood and maximum economic development of the people of Mehgalya.

Lafarge had challenged the order of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests issued in May this year asking the company to stop work at quarries on the ground that mining was not permitted in forest areas. The firm also wanted to transport six lakh tonne of limestone, a key input for making cement, from its mines in Meghalaya to its cement plant in Bangladesh. In an interim order, a forest bench headed by chief justice K G Balakrishnan allowed the multinational8217;s plea. The company had argued the ministry8217;s order amounted to putting an end to supply of raw material to its 255-million cement project in Bangladesh, as it was fully dependent on limestone extracted from East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya.

However, the bench has sought reconfirmation on whether all the necessary clearances were in place and the area had been declared as a forest. Besides, the company will have to submit a cost-benefit analysis and a feasibility report. The order was passed after the court-appointed amicus curie counsel assisting the court Harish Salve submitted that the multinational should be permitted to continue its operations keeping in view the international sensitivities and the cement project, which was already in place.

Stating that the mineral reserve in eco-sensitive areas would require to be exploited, he said the parameters of the evaluation of the eco-environmental cost-benefits cannot be the same as those in non-sensitive areas.