Vedanta to reply to show cause notice by Sept 14

With the fate of its refinery in Orissa's Kalahandi district hanging in the balance, Vedanta Aluminium (VAL) today said it would submit its reply to the show cause notice issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) by September 14.

"We will reply to the show cause notice issued by the MoEF by Tuesday. The company has not violated any law of the land," Vedanta's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Mukesh Mumar told reporters here after meeting Orissa's Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty here.

Vedanta's refinery unit at Lanjigarh, which was granted permission for capacity enhancement from 1 mtpa to 6 mtpa by the state government, claimed it fulfilled all green norms.

The ministry had on September 1 issued a show cause notice to the company asking it as to why license granted to its refinery project and CPP (captive power plant) would not be revoked on the charge of violation of green norms.

The ministry had given permission to the company to set up a 1 mtpa alumina refinery and a 75 MW CPP at Lanjigarh in 2004.

MoEF issued the show cause notice to the company based on the report of the (NC) Saxena Committee that pointed out violation of environment and forest laws.

The company was accused of procuring bauxite from some illegally run mines, undertaking expansion activities without getting permission from the ministry and grabbing forests.

"We are ready with answers to all the charges made by the Saxena Committee," Kumar said.