Vedanta replies to show-cause notices, denies violating norms

As the fate of its $1.7 billion bauxite mining unit proposed in Orissa hangs in balance, Vedanta Resources today denied violating any laws in connection with the project while replying to the showcause notices served by the environment ministry.

"Vedanta Aluminium Ltd has submitted its reply along with supporting documents to both the show cause notices issued by the ministry on August 31," said Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer (Lanjigarh) of the firm.

"Once again Vedanta would like to reiterate that no violation has been done by it on any account and Vedanta is a law abiding company and have high respect for the law of the land," he said in a statement in New Delhi.

However, officials in the environment ministry maintained that they were yet to receive the reply from the company.

The ministry had served the showcause notices on the company on the basis of a report submitted by the NC Saxena panel which had accused the company of violating a host of regulations at the site.

The UK-based Vedanta Resources has been accused of going ahead with the construction activity for the expansion of its aluminium refinery unit from one mtpa to six mtpa and that of its Captive Power Plant from 75 MW to 300 MW without obtaining prior environmental clearance.

The notice also pointed out that the unregulated expansion of the refinery could cause long-term ecological and environmental impacts due to fugitive emissions.

Besides, the ministry observed that 11 out of 14 mines in Jharkhand supplying bauxite to the company were without environmental clearance.