Apex court questions environment ministry on Niyamgiri (Lead)
August 1st, 2011 - 8:58 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday asked the ministry of environment and forests to respond to a plea of the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) challenging the withdrawal of environmental clearance for its bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri hills in the state.
The apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra asked the ministry to file its reply in two weeks after the Orissa government-run OMC told the court that the clearances were withdrawn without giving them an opportunity to be heard.
The court also permitted environmentalist Prafulla Samanta to move an application seeking to be included as a party in the case.
Samanta is opposing bauxite mining in Niyamgiri hills for the project between the OMC and the Vedanta Resources’s Indian arm, Sterlite Industries, for their aluminium plant in the state.
Appearing for the OMC, senior counsel K.K. Venugopal told the court that the union ministry by its July 11 order withdrew the earlier environmental clearance, without affording the petitioner an opportunity to be heard.
The court was told that by the said order the environmental clearance given April 28, 2009 was declared to be inoperable.
The court is already seized of a petition by the OMC challenging the ministry’s order of Aug 30, 2010, rejecting the stage II forest clearance for the diversion of 660.74 hectares of forest land for bauxite mining in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts in Orissa.
While seeking the quashing of the July 11 order withdrawing the environmental clearance, the OMC sought an interim stay on it. The court, however, did not pass any order giving interim relief.
Vedanta signed a deal with the Orissa government in 2003 for the construction of an aluminium refinery and proposed to extract three million tonnes of bauxite per year from Niyamgiri hills.
There was opposition to the mining-cum-refinery project by the locals. A central government panel in August 2010 found Vedanta guilty of expanding its refinery without clearance and shot down its mining plans.
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- Vedanta: Apex court moved against denial of forest clearance - Mar 10, 2011
- Supreme Court notice to government on Orissa project - Apr 21, 2011
- Supreme Court asks for fresh petition on Orissa mining issue - Apr 01, 2011
- Apex court's final hearing on Sterlite project next year (Lead) - Aug 23, 2011
- Activist demands shutdown of Vedanta refinery in Odisha - Sep 18, 2012
- Orissa seeking legal opinion on Vedanta project - Oct 28, 2010
- India junks Vedanta's mining bid on environment concerns - Aug 24, 2010
- Troubled Vedanta loses appeal for controversial Orissa refinery - Oct 22, 2010
- Orissa moves SC against denial of green nod to Vedanta mining project - Apr 01, 2011
- No environment clearance to Vedanta - Jul 02, 2011
- Vedanta refinery cuts output on bauxite shortage - Aug 25, 2012
- Villagers stage demonstration seeking bauxite for Vedanta plant - Sep 11, 2012
- Villagers seek allocation of bauxite for Vedanta plant - Aug 29, 2012
- Environment ministry stops Vedanta's refinery expansion in Orissa - Oct 22, 2010
Tags: aluminium plant, apex court, bauxite mining, court bench, environmental clearance, forest clearance, government panel, gyan, indian arm, interim relief, mining corporation, mining project, ministry of environment and forests, orissa government, raveendran, refinery project, samanta, union ministry, vedanta resources, venugopal