Vedanta gives Rs 10 crore bank guarantee to state pollution board

Keeping in line with the order of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) has provided Rs OSPCB10 crore bank guarantee to the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) as a safeguard against implementation of environmental protection measures at its alumina refinery site at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.

MoEF in its order on October 21 had directed VAL to submit within 15 days an unrevocable bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore valid for three years to OSPCB.

The bank guarantee submitted by the company yesterday is accompanied with a 3 year action plan spelling out the components of environment control on which the money will be spent, said Siddhant Das, member secretary, OSPCB.

In a parallel move, the company has requested MoEF to withdraw the requirement of providing bank guarantee claiming that it has already complied with most of the environment protection norms stipulated by MoEF.

Except for the condition that 25 per cent of the plant area should be covered by green belt, we have complied with all environment norms imposed by MoEF, Mukehs Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, president and chief operating officer of VAL told Business Standard.

Even on creating green belt, 108 acres of required 120 acres have been covered and the rest will be covered soon, he added. MoEF has given a two years deadline for creating green belt on 25 per cent of the plant area.

Kumar said, the company will submit a detailed plan for 'Green Belt Development and Plantation' showing the area to be covered, plant density and plant species to the MoEF within a week though the ministry has given it 90 days to file the plan.

On other conditions of MoEF such as installing peizometers around the red mud and ash ponds to monitor the ground water level, fluctuations and quality parameters on a quarterly basis, he said, the company has already done it.

The company was also asked to undertake continuous monitoring of ambient air quality and stack emissions for all the parameters.

Besides, it was directed to undertake energy conservation measures and make all possible efforts to achieve caustic consumption at 65 kg per tonne from the existing 115.2 kg per tonne, line consumption at 50 kg per tonne of alumina, fuel consumption at 90 litres per tonne and extraction efficiency above 95 per cent by December 2012.