Environment ministry cracks the green whip again, this time on Sesa Goa’s mining project in north Goa  

May 18, 2010

After suspension orders against various projects in the past, the environment ministry has suspended clearance for Sesa Goa’s iron ore project

The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has come down heavily on projects across sectors for violating environment regulations in the recent past.

In its latest move, the ministry has pulled up Sesa Goa, a Vedanta-owned company, for one of its proposed iron ore mines in Goa. In an order sent to Sesa Goa on Monday, the ministry stated that the environment clearance granted to the company in June 2009 had been suspended with immediate effect. The project in consideration is an iron ore mine in north Goa.

The ministry has suspended the clearance order in line with the National Environment Appellate Authority’s order in a hearing between Pirna Naroda Nagrik Kruti Samiti, a local group, and another case filed against the project.

This action is among the many suspension orders released by the ministry over the past few days. Last week, the ministry had ordered construction work at the Maheshwar Hydel power project to be suspended
(see: http://www.moneylife.in/article/8/5415.html). 

On 11 May 2010, the ministry had put the construction work of Vedanta’s university on hold. The university was being planned at Puri in Orissa. Earlier, the ministry had also rejected a uranium mining proposal in Meghalaya. The proposal was put forward by the Department of Atomic Energy.

The standing committee under the chairmanship of Jairam Ramesh, minister of environment and forests, has also decided to press the Maharashtra government for the implementation of a report prepared by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) which also includes an immediate ban on illegal mining & construction of roads. — Moneylife Digital Team