CUTTACK: The Orissa high court on Monday took the mediation route to resolve the purported crisis that National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is facing due to limiting of coal supply by the Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) so that the former’s smelter plant at Angul does not shut down.
While issuing an order for mediation the two-judge bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice R K Pattanaik said : “ Since the essential dispute concerns two PSUs – MCL and Nalco and also involves the participation of the Railways, which is the third central government undertaking in the picture, the Court considers it appropriate to direct that the Secretary Power, Secretary Coal, Secretary Mines and the Chairman of the Railway Board will sit together with the Managing Directors of MCL and Nalco not later than 6 pm on April 26, 2022 to find out a workable arrangement to be put in place so that Nalco’s smelter plant and refinery at Angul and Damanjodi respectively are not pushed to a critical point of shutdown”.
