The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday ordered Alstom Bharat Forge to stop operations within the premises of Adani Port & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) in Mundra, Gujarat, until the SEZ obtains the necessary environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The order, delivered by a division bench of the high court comprising of acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice JB Pardiwala, came in response to a public interest litigation filed by villagers of Navinal, one of the 14 villages located inside the SEZ area, and stated that an industrial unit located inside a SEZ cannot begin operations until the SEZ itself obtains environmental clearance. According to Anand Yagnik, lawyer of the petitioners, Alstom Bharat Forge — the joint venture company between France's Alstom and Bharat Forge — with its 120-acre unit within APSEZ was going on with construction breaching environmental laws. The company had argued that it had received the environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests and also produced a letter from the ministry stating that the unit, individually, does not need green clearance. Yagnik said that the company, however, did not inform the MoEF that they were located inside an SEZ that was yet to get an environmental clearance. The Adani group is estimated to have invested as much as Rs.23,000 crore in Mundra and about Rs 7,000 crore in the SEZ, while Alstom Bharat Forge's investments are roughly estimated at Rs.2,000 crore, of which Rs 120 crore has likely been spent in purchasing the land and subsequent work. Following the order, the Adani Group in a statement said, "The order states that Alstom Bharat Forge individually do not require any environmental clearance, however, it cannot construct till Mundra SEZ receives environmental clearance. This has no impact on ongoing port operations and port development activities at Mundra for which the company has requisite environmental clearance."