MoEF clearance for Kalta, Barsuan mines of SAIL

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Rourkela: It is huge relief for Raw Material Division (RMD), a unit of Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), with Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) granting the much-awaited forest clearance (FC) to two of its major iron ore mines at Kalta and Barsuan which without this clearance would have been closed from March 8.

According to a senior official of RMD, as per the policy of government of India, no mines can operate even for a single day without forest clearance. The forest clearance for the first phase of two SAIL-owned mines of the district- Barsuan and Kalta iron ore mines- had expired about two years ago. They were in operation on Temporary Working Permit (TWP) for the last two years.

The maximum limit of operation under TWP being two years, the SAIL management needed to obtain Stage II clearance for operation of these two mines. Although application was made by SAIL for obtaining forest clearance of the stage II operation of these two mines, the files could not be processed here due to want of detailed compliance report of the Stage I and some other documents.

The compliance process of the document took a long time leading to apprehension about their closure after March 7.

With the Temporary Work Permit expiring, Bonai Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) S K Banchor served a notice recently stating that after March 7, no mining would be allowed, without the fresh FC, sources said.

“We had no other option than to serve a notice for closing the mining activity. We have already received the clearance from the ministry of forest and environment and accordingly we are also issuing a letter to RMD allowing mining activity in Kalta and Barsuan mines,” said S K Banchor.     

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