NGT imposes Rs 25 cr fine on Vedanta’s Lanjigarh plant

Last Updated May 06, 2022

New Delhi, May 6: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a fine of Rs 25 crore on Vedanta Limited for violating the environmental norms by expanding its Lanjigarh plant in Odisha’s Kalahandi district. A special bench of NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel has directed the company to deposit the amount with the State Pollution Control Board within one month. The amount will be kept in a separate account to be utilised for the restoration of the environment. A petition was filed against the environmental clearance dated on November 20, 2015 granted to Vedanta Limited (formerly Sesa Sterlite Ltd.), Bhubaneshwar, for expansion of alumina refinery and captive power plant at Lanjigarh. The NGT held the company accountable for the violation of a partly undertaken expansion without prior environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). The company claimed that it has invested Rs 50,000 crore and has undertaken all mitigation measures for the protection of the environment. It has also complied with all statutory requirements.