New Delhi:
The Supreme Court will on Wednesday pronounce its judgement over mining by the French cement giant Lafarge in the forest of East Khasi hills in Meghalaya for its Bangladesh-based cement plant.
The environmental clearance given by the Ministry of Environment and Forest has been challenged.
A special forest bench headed by the Chief Justice S H Kapadia would give its verdict over mining in the forest over a batch of petitions filed by local residents, company and other parties.
The court had on May 10 reserved its judgement after hearing all the parties over the revised environmental clearance given to Lafarge for mining in the forest.
The apex court had on February 5, 2010, stopped Lafarge from carrying out limestone mining in Meghalaya for its cement plant, saying mining in the environmentally-sensitive zone could not be allowed.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had given revised environmental clearance to Lafarge last April on the directions of the Supreme Court after finding the mining project in the forest land.
People of Shella village, who are claiming to be in the radius of the mines, are opposing the revised clearance given by the MoEF.
Lafarge is defending its case on the basis of DFO's report given on June 30, 2000, stating that it was a waste land and there was no forest there.
On April 24, the ministry had told the Supreme Court that it had cleared the mining project of Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt Ltd, a sister concern of the French major, with strict riders.
The MoEF's revised clearance came after the apex court on April 12 directed it to take a final decision on the 116 hectares limestone mine area in the Khasi Hills Forest area of Meghalaya.
The US $255 million Lafarge Surma Cement project at Chhatak in Bangladesh is wholly dependent on limestone extracted from East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
Limestone is transported from Meghalaya to Bangladesh by a 17 km-long conveyor belt.