SPCB has also asked the company to submit the reply within 15 days of the showcause notice The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has issued a show cause to Bhusan Steel Ltd’s sponge iron plant at Dhenkanal. The pollution watchdog has questioned as to why the ‘consent to operate’ given to the plant will not be revoked for its failure to implement directions given by the board. The consent to operate given to the plant by the board will expire on September 30. SPCB has also asked the company to submit the reply within 15 days of the showcause notice. “In case your explanation is not received within stipulated date or the explanation is found to be unsatisfactory, appropriate decision on refusal of the consent or closure order will be taken under the various provisions of Water and Air Act,” the board said in its recent order. “In its show cause, the SPCB has disallowed the company to operate two closed kilns and 33 MW coal-based power plant. These were closed last year under the board’s order,” said S K Sahu, regional officer of the board. The notice was highly critical of the company for showing disregard to the orders of the board’s regional officer who asked it to stop discharge of untreated waste water to nearby Kisinda nallah. The regional officer had also asked the company to provide an embankment around the solid waste dumping site of 10.76 acres of land located adjacent to the nallah to check entry of surface run off into the rivulet during heavy rain. However, the company did not comply with the directions. Expressing concern over the dumping of ash, the board also pointed out the failure of the company to back fill the ash in the void at Jagannath coal mine at Talcher even though the board has allowed the same. The board in its notice raised concern that the plant has no more space to dump its solid waste generated from the plant and took exception to the illegal dumping of solid waste in different places. A senior official of Bhusan Steel admitted the receipt of the show cause notice of SPCB. “We have received the show cause notice and we will give an appropriate reply,” he said.