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25th Sept
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Coal India subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Limited can face a penalty of more than Rs 20,000 crore in the wake of a Supreme Court order that rendered illegal all mineral production in violation of environmental laws.
The Odisha government is evaluating the company’s liability after the top court in its August 2 verdict ordered the state to recover the value of all minerals produced without or in excess of caps under environment, forest laws, pollution control rules and mining plans.
The Supreme Court ruling — in a case filed by social organisation Common Cause against the Union of India and others over violations of iron ore and manganese miners in Odisha — has also prompted the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the central environment ministry to defer clearances to coal projects.
Odisha directorate of mines has already sent notices to 152 errant lessees, including Orissa Mining Corporation, Tata Steel and Aditya Birla company Essel Mining, to recover Rs 17,576.17 crore.
The state has time till the end of the year to recover from another 34 lessees the value of ore mined from forest areas without permission. The Odisha government is of the view that the order may apply to coal, chrome and other major minerals. State mines minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik said his government has sought the state advocate general’s view on what coal and chrome miners owe the government.
Data collected by the directorate suggest that Mahanadi Coalfields mines produced 435.78 million tonnes in excess of one permit or the other between 2000-01 and 2010-11, a senior department official said.
This could amount to recovery notice of Rs 20,720 crore, the official said on condition of anonymity. The amount could not be independently verified.
Mahanadi Coalfields and Coal India did not respond to emailed questions from ET as of press time Monday.
Odisha had fined Mahanadi Coalfields Rs 1,306 crore for “illegal extraction” or mining without environment clearance in the Ib Valley in 2012, prompted by a state controller and auditor general’s report.
Source-ET
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