French cement giant Lafarge may have to wait a while to resume mining, with the Supreme Court asking it to seek fresh environmental and forests clearance from the Centre for mining in the eco-fragile East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan while rejecting the plea for lifting of ban on limestone mining by Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt Ltd (LUMPL) asked the latter to get a fresh Environment Impact Assesment (EIA).
The order will delay raw material supply to Lafarge’s cement plant in Bangladesh and cause diplomatic embarrassment to India which had guaranteed uninterrupted supply of limestone.
The court directed Attorney General GE Vahanvati, appearing for the ministry of environment and forests, to prepare a draft on the modalities on EIA and the conditions proposed to be imposed on Lafarge before April 9.
Vahanvati proposed that Lafarge should be required to pay both compensatory afforestation amounts imposed by the Forest Advisory Committee as well as the penal NPV required to be paid by the apex court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) .
He said Lafarge and the state should be directed to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle responsible for administering a fund for tribal welfare.
Besides, Lafarge should pay Rs 10 crore into this SPV and for every subsequent year till such time as limestone was quarried, it shall continue to pay Rs 10 crore or 30% of its annual profits, which ever is higher, into the SPV, the AG said, adding the SPV would file its annual return before the apex court. While suggesting that the mortgage of tribal land, which Lafarge had accepted, should be cancelled, Vahanvati said the same should be redeemed by payment of the total outstanding due within four weeks.
Opposing the Centre’s plea to regularise the project, Senior counsel PS Narasimha and Somiran Sharma, appearing for Shella Action Committee, contented that the company which violated laws can’t be allowed to mine just because there are “international commitments.”
The project is close to Cherrapunjee, once the wettest place on earth, fast turning into a wet desert.
Shella Action Committee said it was not opposed to the foreign investment in the state, but the firms should respect laws and carefully deal with the rights of the indigenous people. Senior counsel and Amicus Curiae Harish Salve supported Narasimha, saying the earlier clearance was given with an understanding that Lafarge will set up a cement plant in India. He further said “we need safeguards and checks.”
The Bench turned down Lafarge counsel Mukul Rohtagi’s plea for early resumption of mining, saying “if we allow mining, it would set a bad precedent for companies flouting environment norms in the future.”
