Lafarge’s Himachal cement plant faces environmental axe

At long last, the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) seems to be taking its job seriously. The latest project to fall under its axe is the Rs900-crore cement plant in Himachal Pradesh.

Promoted by French giant Lafarge, the cement complex in the limestone-rich Himalaya was supposed to comprise a cement plant with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum and 2 mtpa of clinker, and a captive limestone extraction mine with a capacity of 3 mtpa. However, it has lost its environmental clearance after the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEEA) ruled that it threatens the agriculture-based local economy and the nearby Majathal Wildlife sanctuary.

''Taking into consideration all the relevant aspects, the authority is convinced that on environmental and social considerations, it is neither desirable to mine the Talehan village nor put up the cement plant in Ghanger,'' said NEAA.

The NEAA is a single-member appeals body created by an act of parliament. Its investigation team found that the environment impact assessment report did not sufficiently reflect the opposition of villagers and the ''dispossession, impoverishment and trauma'' attached to their displacement.

The clearance was originally granted by the MoEF in June 2009. But a series of complaints from villagers and activists spurred NEAA members to visit the site in Mandi district in June this year. Following an inspection of the site and discussions with various stakeholders, including local people, state government and pollution control officials, the NEAA quashed the clearance of the integrated cement plant and captive limestone mine.

The company has only got the consent of 16 out of 381 landowners so far, the team said. It also found that the company's claim that the mining area is not cultivable is untrue.