Vedanta Aluminium presents its case before MoEF

In a reiteration of its earlier stand, Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) told the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) that it had not breached any regulatory norms at the site of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Orissa's Kalahandi district.

The company was today called for a personal hearing by the ministry, where it gave the supporting documents.

"Our meeting with the MoEF continued for about two hours and we submitted many supporting documents. Earlier, in our response to the showcause notice to the ministry, we had submitted all the documentary proof to the ministry...including receipts of royalty and excise duty paid by VAL. We also informed the ministry on our refinery expansion work and the measures taken for the peripheral development of the area," Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer of VAL, told Business Standard.

VAL had given its reply to MoEF on September 15. This was in response to the showcause notice served by the ministry on the company on August 31 for carrying out work on capacity expansion of its alumna refinery from one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to six mtpa and that of its captive power plant at the same location from 75 Mw to 300 Mw without prior environmental clearance.

The National Environment Appellate Authority, in its order dated September 15, had asked MoEF to revisit the environmental clearance given to the bauxite mining project of VAL at the Niyamgiri hills, close to the site of its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh.

In its showcause notice dated August 31, the MoEF had asked why the environmental clearance accorded to the company's refinery project on September 22, 2004, should not be revoked and direction for closure of the one mtpa refinery not be issued.

It said unregulated expansion of the refinery could cause long-term ecological and environmental impacts due to fugitive emissions and environmental impacts due to fugitive emissions including mercury and generation of red mud beyond the approved activities.