Essar Steel has received approval from National Green Tribunal (NGT) to start construction for laying a portion of its slurry pipeline to transport iron ore from its steel beneficiation plant in Keonjhar district of Orissa to another unit in Paradip.
The company has accorded permission to commence work only on 0.723 ha of forest land in the state for laying a portion of its 253 km long slurry pipeline to transport iron ore.
Till date the company has laid 227 km of the pipeline and is awaiting forest clearance for other sections of the project site in order to complete the work.
The 253 km long slurry transportation system, envisaged from beneficiation plant to Paradip, will traverse through four Orissa districts of Keonjhar, Jajpur, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur and will use water from river Baitrani.