Sesa Goa’s Pirna iron ore mine EC cancelled

The environmental clearance granted to Vedanta-owned Sesa Goa for the Pirna iron ore mine, stands cancelled after the environment ministry found that the miner had suppressed information in its environment impact assessment study.

The ministry's decision on revocation of the clearance follows an appeal by Pirna-Nadora Nagrik Kruti Samiti and Umesh Naik before the National Green Tribunal.

Vedanta-owned Sesa Goa had applied for environmental clearance to extract 0.20 MTPA of ore in 43 hectares in Pirna and Nadora of Goa.

The project was given environmental clearance in June 2009, after examining documents and details provided by the project proponent and also on the recommendation of the expert appraisal committee (EAC) constituted under provisions of EIA notification 2006.

According to a company spokesman, the cancellation of the environment clearance by the ministry of environment and forests for the Pirna lease, a very small mine with only 0.20 MTPA capacity, was an old issue, where Sesa Goa had voluntarily withdrawn its application for EC when it was discovered that its application was deficient on some counts. He added that no mining has occurred at the said mine even though the environment clearance was granted more than three years back.

Mining at Pirna lease was never considered as part the company's business plans, he added. According to the ministry's  order on revocation of the clearance, Sesa Goa had submitted a deficient EIA report.