Nothing wrong with Orissa project: Jindal

Jindal,who is presently in the US,pursuing a 10-day course at the Harvard Kennedy School on public policy and leadership as part of the 8216;Young Global Leaders8217; programme,said the Environment Ministry 8220;can ask8221; the state government to take action but added that there was 8220;nothing wrong8221; with the project.

8220;If we had done wrong,why did the Environment Ministry clear it. There is nothing wrong. The state government will see,if they find something wrong they are welcome to take any action,8221; he said.

JSPL8217;s 6 MTPA steel plant and 1,000 MW captive power plant at Angul in Orissa are facing trouble,with Environment Ministry last week asking the state to initiate action against the company for starting construction in the non-forest area,without first obtaining clearance for the forest section.

8220;It is noted that JSPL started construction activity on the non-forest land without obtaining prior forestry clearance under the Forest Conservation Act,1980,which is not in consonance with the environmental clearance accorded to the project,8221; the directive to Orissa government had said.

In February,the Environment Ministry had cleared Congress MP Naveen Jindal8217;s Angul steel plant with certain conditions.

It was cleared by the Ministry after accepting the company8217;s explanation in response to its showcause notice issued on November 22,2010.