Gujarat HC gives green signal to Nirma’s Mahuva cement plant

A Gujarat high court bench headed by chief justice SJ Mukhopadhyaya on Monday rejected Shree Mahuva Bandhara Khetiwadi Paryavaran Bachav Samiti’s demands and allowed Nirma company to resume construction work of its Cement plant after four weeks coming up in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. Construction work of Cement plant was earlier stayed by Gujarat High Court on March 17.

After prolong argument from both sides, Chief Justice a bench of SJ Mukhopadhyay and Akil Kureshi instructed Nirma company to give back 46 hector of the total land allotted to the government and then resume construction work. Out of 268 hectares allotted to Nirma for putting up the cement plant, the company had relinquished 54 hectares in December last by following recommendations of a Kalpasar committee, which had opined that the company could surrender 100 hectare in order to protect ecology. HC has asked the company to relinquish another 46 hectares land, but this land must not form part of water channels to be dug up by the company to maintain water flow to the reservoir.The company has been asked not to use water from the reservoir or pollute the water. On the contrary, the company would dig up the wasteland in order to enhance preservation capacity of the water body as per the condition imposed by the state government.