In a missive issued on August 3, the CGWB directed the Jharsuguda collector to form a panel comprising representatives of the district administration, the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), the CGWB and other concerned departments to verify allegations that the company extracted groundwater on a large scale without statutory approvals.
The committee has been asked to inspect the site and submit its report within 15 days of the inspection. Business Standard has reviewed the letter.
The directive follows a complaint by Satyanarayan Rao, president of Anchalik Paribesh Surakhya Sangh, Jharsuguda, alleging that Vedanta extracted groundwater through borewells for industrial use without mandatory approvals, violating environmental laws, CGWA regulations and directives of Odisha’s water resources department.
Rao sought a physical inspection of the plant, sealing of all unauthorised and unmetered borewells, and legal action against the company, including penalties as per statutory guidelines.
The CGWB said the allegations required verification through scrutiny of official records as well as a physical inspection of the industrial premises.
"In view of the seriousness of the allegations, a joint verification committee be constituted under the chairmanship of the Jharsuguda collector with representatives from departments concerned. The joint committee may be advised to undertake inspection and verification of the allegations made by the compliant and submit its report within 15 days of the completion of the inspection," read the 3 August letter to Jharsuguda collector.
Kunal Motiram Chavan, collector of Jharsuguda, said a committee headed by the additional district magistrate had already been constituted to investigate the allegations. “The four-member panel has been asked to inspect the sites, inquire about the borewells and submit a report at the earliest,” he told Business Standard.
An email sent to Vedanta seeking comments remained unanswered until the time of going to press.
The development comes about three months after the Odisha government issued a demand notice of~233.11 crore to Vedanta Aluminium Ltd's Jharsuguda unit for alleged unauthorised extraction of water from the Bheden river system.
Vedanta had contested the notice, saying it was based on “incorrect assumptions” and did not reflect the factual or regulatory position.
While the earlier dispute related to surface/river water, the latest complaint concerns groundwater allegedly extracted through borewells.
According to the complaint, Vedanta operated numerous borewells without mandatory groundwater clearances, water-drawal agreements or digital flow meters.
The complainant alleged that Vedanta relied entirely on groundwater during the construction and commissioning of its Jharsuguda plant between 2005 and 2011 because the pipeline from the Hirakud reservoir became operational only in 2011.
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