Parliament Question: Environmental Clearance to Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited

OIH GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3890 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 Environmental Clearance to Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited 3890. SHRI SANJAY UTTAMRAO DESHMUKH Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has received any proposal regarding compliance of environmental norms issues in reference of Lloyds Metals and Energy and Limited, Surjagarh, Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof; (b) the action taken by the Government so far against the environmental issues raised in the said proposal and letter; (c) the current status of environmental clearance issued for the Company's projects along with its terms and conditions; (d) the mandatory conditions imposed on the company to control air, water and land pollution and the manner in which the compliance of these conditions are being monitored; (e) whether the Government has conducted any independent study to assess the potential impact on the health of local citizens, water sources and agricultural land; and (f) whether any environmental norms have been violated and if so, the punitive or corrective action taken by the Government so far against the company? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) to (b) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has received proposal regarding compliance of environmental norms with reference to Lloyds Metals and Energy and Limited, Surjagarh, Maharashtra. Accordingly, the Regional Office (RO) of the Ministry at Nagpur monitored the said project on 05.12.2024 and the Certified Compliance Report (CCR) for the same was issued on 10.02.2025. (c) to (f) Environmental Clearance (EC) was granted to M/s Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited on 29.05.2006 under the provisions of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 1994, which was valid for a period of 5 years. However, the Project Proponent (PP) continued mining operations after 2011 without obtaining prior EC under the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006, thereby resulting in violation of the said notification. Subsequently, the PP submitted a proposal for expansion under the violation category in accordance with the statutory provisions i.e. Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) dated 07.07.2021 issued by the Ministry. The proposal was appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), which recommended the Terms of Reference (ToR) under the violation category. Based on the recommendations of the EAC, the Ministry, on 18.07.2022, issueddirections to the Secretary, Department of Environment, Government of Maharashtra to initiate action against the PP under the provisions of Section 19 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The ToR under the violation category was also issued on 18.07.2022. Upon submission of the proposal for grant of EC, the same was appraised by the EAC as per due procedure, and the EAC recommended the proposal for grant of EC subject to submission of a bank guarantee of Rs. 26.64 crore (towards implementation of the Remediation Plan and Natural and Community Resource Augmentation Plan for addressing the impacts of past violations) & penalty of Rs. 5.48 crore. Upon submission of the penalty amount of Rs. 5.48 crore and bank guarantee of Rs. 26.64 crore by the PP, the Ministry granted EC on 24.02.2023. Subsequently, the PP applied for expansion of its project which was duly appraised and an EC for expansion was granted on 25.06.2025. As per the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006, Environmental Clearances are granted only after a comprehensive appraisal of the EIA Report and the corresponding Environmental Management Plan (EMP) prepared for the project. The EC is accorded subject to specific safeguards relating to statutory compliances; monitoring and preservation of air, water and noise quality; energy conservation measures; waste management; development and maintenance of green belts; transport management; safeguards for human health and environment; protection of livelihoods of indigenous and local communities; and risk mitigation and disaster management. Further, it is mandatory for the PP to submit half-yearly compliance reports in respect of the stipulated prior EC terms and conditions, in soft copies, to the concerned regulatory authority on 1st June and 1st December of each calendar year. All such compliance reports submitted by the PP are public documents, and copies of the same could be provided to any person on application to the concerned regulatory authorities. The State Pollution Control Boards / Pollution Control Committees are empowered to take remedial and penal action in cases of violation of Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) conditions in accordance with the provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. ****