From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: A day after the Centre named several cement plants as eco offenders in Meghalaya, two leading companies – Amrit Cement Industries Ltd and Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd – have denied that have violated any environment laws in the State.
A spokesman from the Amirt cement even submitted documents which showed that the company did get environment clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest before it started its operations.
The company is yet to actually produce cement till date, the spokesman said. The company is abiding by all environmental and forest rules with due clearance from the Centre, the State Government and the traditional bodies in Meghalaya, he claimed.
Cement giant, Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd (LCS) which is extracting limestone from Meghalaya for its cement plant too claimed that it was adhering to and complying with top environmental norms in its mines here as adopted by the company in its operations in top European countries.
The Union Minister for Environment and Forest Ms Jayanti Natarajan had told the Parliament on Tuesday that as many as 34 companies, public sectors units and even autonomous bodies are violating environment norms in Northeast including Meghalaya. Most of the cement plants named by her are located in Meghalaya.
The Minister was replying to a question of Kumar Deepak Das, AGP MP from Assam in the Upper House. Das also raised serious concern over open cast coal mining in the region. The Minister said that as per the reports of regional office of the Ministry besides MECL and Amrit Cement others who have environment offenders are- Lafarge Umiam Pvt Ltd (for opencast lime stone mining at Phalngkaruh, Nongtrai), Hill Cement Company Ltd (Integrated cement plant and coal based captive thermal plant at Mynkre village in Jaintia hills), JUD Cement Pvt Ltd (Integrated cement plant and captive power plant at Wahiajer in Jaintia Hills) and Meghalaya Cements Ltd ( Expansion plant and captive power plant at Thanskhai in Jaintia Hills), National Highways Authortiy of India (Jorabad-Shillong section).