The State Pollution Control Board has filed a case against unit-I of Jaypee Cement Plant in a local court for undertaking expansion without obtaining the environmental clearance and other approvals. Even as the Chief Minister directed the officials to review the expansion proposal of Jaypee Cement Plant of its unit-I at Baga village in Solan district at a meeting of the Single Window Clearance Agency (SWCA) held yesterday, a case has been filed by the board for violating the Environment Protection Act, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The case was registered in July following directions of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which had found that the plant had enhanced its capacity of producing clinker from 2.05 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 3.5 MTPA early this year without the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) clearance. The Industries Department, which was examining the case, had, however, presented the case before the SWCA yesterday to grant post-facto approval. It was while examining the case that the Chief Minister directed the officials to check the production, capacity and other details of the plant’s expansion before giving it an approval. Though undertaking expansion without taking approval from the SWCA is a major violation of the said norms, the Industries Department is yet to take action in the case. It had taken the case to the SWCA for granting it an approval. The earlier proposal of Jaypee Cement Plant to grant it approval had been rejected by the Industries Department and they had been directed to seek environmental clearance first and then apply for approval. Following this, the management of the plant had applied directly to the MoEF for environmental clearance after having expanded its capacity from 2.05 MTPA to 3.5 MTPA. But the MoEF had directed the state government to prosecute the plant management for having violated the environment laws. The development comes a year after Jaypee Associates was fined Rs 100 crore by the high court for bypassing a similar mandatory EIA clearance on false pleas in running its other plant located at Bagheri in Nalagarh. It is yet to be seen what action the officials of the Industries Department take against the unit for bypassing mandatory approvals. Director, Industries, Mohan Chauhan said he was examining the case after registration of a case against the unit by the State Pollution Control Board.