Essar Steel has used about three million cubic meters water illegally in Chhattisgarh for transporting iron ore slurry from its beneficiation plant to pellet unit in Visakhapatnam.
The steel major has a business operation in Chhattisgarh and supplies high-grade iron ore from its eight-million tonne per annum (mtpa) beneficiation plant near Kirandul here to a pellet plant in Visakhapatnam. The iron ore is pumped as slurry through a 267-km pipeline, the second longest in the world, to the pellet plant.
The company had come under the scanner for allegedly using water from different sources in Dantewada district (under which Kirandul comes) without taking permission from the competent authorities. The issue came up in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly (CLA) on Sunday opposition members asked about the water deal with the company.
Chhattisgarh Minister for water resources Ramvichar Netam informed that the state government had reached an agreement with Essar Steel to provide 5,58,041 cubic meters of water for transporting iron ore slurry through the pipeline. Under the agreement, the Essar Steel would be getting water from the Sabri River.
Netam informed the House that Essar Steel drew water from another source near Kirandul without taking permission from the authorities concerned. “During October 2006 to October 2011, Essar Steel drew 28,50,060 cubic meters of water from Madari Nullah without any permission,” the minister said.
The opposition members however created ruckus in the House and charged that the state government was giving shelter to the company that was illegally drawing water. “Instead of taking action against the Essar Steel, the water resources department looked the other way and allowed the company to draw water for five years without permission,” the opposition members charged.
The minister however could not give satisfactory reply about the penalty imposed on Essar Steel for illegally drawing water and recovering the same from the company. The opposition members later staged a walk out from the House in protest.
