The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre and the Odisha Government Odisha and sought a detailed reply of the iron ore sharing contract between Sarda Mines and Jindal Steel and power Limited (JSPL) within two months.
A division bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Dipak Misra and also comprising Justice C. Nagappan, sought the reply from both the respondents-Odisha and the Centre. The Supreme Court has fixed the matter for further hearing on November 23.
The Odisha government had challenged the high court order in the apex court, giving access to 12 million tonne iron ore to the JSPL.
JSPL sourced iron ore for its Barbil and Raigarh factories from Sarda Mines Pvt. Ltd.
The Odisha Government argued that the transport of material should be counted as mining. It could not be allowed without environment clearance under the MMDR Act.
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