No green nod for steel projects in Bellary

The Environment Ministry has decided not to consider any integrated steel plants and sponge iron plants that are dependent on iron ore from districts of Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga in Karnataka. This follows the recent Supreme Court ban on iron ore mining in these districts on environmental grounds. The Expert Appraisal Committee, at both the Centre and State level, will not consider proposals relating to integrated steel plants and sponge iron plants that seek to source iron ore from these districts till the ban is lifted, the Ministry said in a recent statement. The Ministry has also directed the Expert Appraisal Committee to delist any such proposals under consideration.