BackHC seeks minutes of FAC meetings on sustainable mining in Saranda
Delhi high court asked the centre to submit the details of status of lease(s) granted for the said mining area, spread across 200 acres of forest land
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New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday directed the centre to furnish minutes of Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) meetings leading to the approval of a ‘sustainable mining plan’ for Jharkhand’s Saranda forest, based on which clearance to ArcelorMittal for its Rs50,000 crore iron ore mine in the area was refused.
The court also asked the centre to submit the details of status of lease(s) granted for the said mining area, spread across 200 acres of forest land.
ArcelorMittal was allocated the mining lease for the Karampada iron ore mine in the Saranda forest area for its integrated steel plant in Jharkhand in June 2008.
In light of the expiry of its lease and no clearance from the ministry of environment and forest, ArcelorMittal had moved the Delhi high court in January 2017 to get an early decision on its mining project proposal to realize its goal of 12 million tonnes per annum steel plant in Jharkhand.
After a direction from the high court in In January 2017 to decide the fate of the mining project at the earliest, FAC, under the ministry of environment and forests, refused to grant clearance to the Saranda mining project.
In a move to encourage ‘sustainable mining’, FAC refused to allow mining in the Saranda forest area which is part of the Singhbhum elephant reserve, to prevent any harm to the ecology.
The matter is next listed for hearing on 29 May.
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