The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to reply within three weeks regarding extension of environment clearance for Posco’s steel plant project near Paradip. “Let reply be filed within three weeks from today with advanced copy to counsel for appellant, who may file rejoinder within two weeks,” the tribunal said on Tuesday. Hearing a case filed by environmentalist Prafulla Samantara, the NGT asked the Central and State Governments to clarify the questions raised about the revalidation of environment clearance (EC) granted on January 7, 2014. The EC was extended as per an order issued by the NGT in 2013. While hearing another case relating to forest clearance and tree felling at proposed plant site, the court had asked the MoEF to re-validate the EC granted in 2007. The original EC in 2007 was granted for a 12-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) steel plant of Posco along with its captive port and other facilities. However, in the revalidated EC, the MoEF has granted the clearance for a four-million-tonne plant and said there is an inbuilt provision to build another steel mill of four-MTPA capacity later. The petitioner, in a fresh appeal filed in last week of March, said the revalidation approved in January this year and the original EC granted in 2007 was cleared without looking into ground reports submitted by experts and, hence, is illegal. “The EC was illegal and that’s why the court admitted our prayer to hear the matter,” said Samantara.