India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) has suspended the combined environmental clearance granted earlier for JSW Steel Limited’s steel plant, along with interconnected cement and power plants, proposed to be constructed in the eastern state of Odisha, a government official said on Friday, March 24.
The environmental clearance will stand suspended for three months while the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the central ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) makes a fresh assessment of the projects.
The NGT order is in response to a petition filed before it claiming that the procedure adopted before grant of the clearance was erroneous and that water to be sourced for the projects was the source of water supply to the local population.
“We are conscious that the project involves huge investment. At the same time, the principle of sustainable development cannot be ignored. Apart from the significant issue of public hearing, the important issue of location of the project close to a polluted area, the jetty being unnecessarily close to an established port, huge water being taken from the river which may affect drinking water needs and the flow of the river and important issues which need express consideration. The matter will need fresh appraisal by the EAC by reasoned consideration and fresh decision by the MoEFCC,” the NGT order said.
JSW Steel Limited through its subsidiary JSW Utkal Steel Limited proposes to construct a 13.2 million mt greenfield steel mill along with a captive jetty, a captive power plant and a slag-based cement plant entailing an aggregate investment of $8 billion.
