Govt paces up efforts for another cement plant

the prospective cement plant in Chopal was re-advertised by the industries department on September 13,said a senior official. The interested company will be initially granted a ‘prospecting licence’ of three years.

The limestone quarry site is located at Sugrathi,Thangar,Kura Khera,Pauli Kehra,Kandal and Badera villages of Chopal in the interiors of Shimla district. According to reports,poor road connectivity to the area was one of the reasons why Indorama could not start work on the plant.

State Geologist Arun Sharma said: “Our department had identified two sites in Chopal and now one of this with an estimated capacity of 150 to 200 million tonnes has been re-advertised. Another limestone site,about 12 kilometers away,has been allotted on ‘prospecting licence’ basis to India Cements.”

Indorama was granted prospecting licence for the site in 2006. It was cancelled earlier this year for “showing no progress”. The company did not even reply to the show-cause notices issued by the industries department,said a government official.

Environment clearance to the proposed cement plant of Lafarge at Alsindi in Karsog of Mandi district was recently quashed by the National Environment Appellate Authority after locals filed a petition against the company. Another plant near Sundernagar in Mandi district is also facing resistance from locals who have raised concerns about threat to environment.