MoEF gives Jindal Steel Dec deadline

Jindal is in danger of losing clearance for its steel plant in Angil.

Turning down the request of Jindal Steel and Power Limited of more time to reply to its notice over revoking environmental clearance for its 6 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant and 1000 megawatt captive power plant in Angul district,the ministry of environment and forest has now asked the company to submit its reply by December 22.

The MoEF on November 22 had issued a notice the company,owned by the family of Congress MP Naveen Jindal had asked on why the environment clearance given to JSPL should not be revoked for flouting clearance conditions. The company was asked to submit its reply by December 14.

The plant at Kerjang in Angul was given conditional environmental approval on February 22,2007,with a caveat that no construction should take place till it receives clearances for 168.3 hectare of forest land. However,the local divisional forest officer issued a notice to the company on July 6,2009 over construction work on non-government forest land.

The conditional clearance had a clause that no construction can be carried anywhere on the 2,000 hectare plant site before the forest allocation is cleared.

However,the company in its reply on Dec 7 had requested the ministry to allow it to file its full reply by January 14 as some of the senior officers of the project had shifted/left the organisation due to location of the steel pant in the backward region of Orissa. The company also replied that it would not be possible to submit the reply within short time of December 14 as there would be intervening holidays during Christmas and New Year.

But the MoEF gave allowed extension of only 8 days asking the company to file its written reply by December 22. It also said if the company wished,a personal hearing can be organised at the ministry on December 29.

This is the third mineral-based project in Orissa to hit an environmental hurdle after Poscos 12 million tonne steel project and Vedanta8217;s bauxite mining project at Niyamgiri mountains.