Supreme Court raps Centre on Lafarge mining

The Union government suffered a jolt as the Supreme Court on Monday refused to accept its plea for allowing French cement major Lafarge to continue mining of limestone in the forests areas of Meghalaya for its cement project in Bangladesh.

“We do not give permission without environmental impact assessment (EIA)... If this court has not allowed anyone to do mining without EIA permission, why would you (government)?” the green bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices S H Kapadia and Aftab Alam asked attorney general Goolam E Vahanvati.

The judges asked the attorney general to prepare the modalities for EIA and the conditions imposed on Lafarge and submit the same by the next hearing on April 9.

Vahanvati proposed an arrangement based on the Sterlite model as suggested by advocate Harish Salve, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae in the matter.

The government has suggested formation of a special purpose vehicle with equal participation from locals and the State of Meghalaya, which would administer a fund for development, health, education and irrigation, etc within 50 km of the project site.

The apex court had stalled mining operations by the French concern on the ground that it was being done in the forest area and that it didn’t meet the requirements set by the central empowered committee appointed by the court. A civil society group, Shella Action Committee, had earlier challenged the sanction granted to the company for transfer of tribal land to the Lafarge group for exploitation of forest land.

Following the stay, the government had moved the court expressing concern over its ties with Bangladesh.

The attorney general submitted that if the restriction stayed, “the whole image of the country would suffer” as the mining was allowed long ago in an agreement between former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her then Bangladeshi counterpart, President Mujibur Rehman.

The stay “is causing a huge international problem” as India had in 2001 guaranteed uninterrupted supply of limestone to Bangladesh, the government side stated.    

The $255 million Lafarge Surma Cement project at Chhatak, Sunamganj, in Bangladesh is wholly dependent on limestone extracted from East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya. The quarries are operated by Lafarge subsidiary Lum Umiam Mining Pvt Ltd and limestone is transported from Meghalaya to Bangladesh in a 17-km-long conveyor belt.

According to the government, stoppage of limestone supply has led to a 15% fall in cement production in Bangladesh and is a severe setback to its housing projects.