Jaiprakash Associates leads the gainer list of ‘BSE 100’ space

Jaiprakash Associates is currently trading at Rs. 62.60, up by 2.20 points or 3.64% from its previous closing of Rs. 60.40 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 59.90 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 63.40 and Rs. 59.50 respectively. So far 25,57,000 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 89.65 on 13-May-2011 and a 52 week low of Rs. 50.45 on 09-Jan-2012.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 71.00 and Rs. 59.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 13,311.00 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 46.76% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 33.46% and 19.79% respectively.

In a major blow to power conglomerate Jaiprakash Associates, the green bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court has slapped Rs 100 crore worth penalty on the company for violation of environmental laws, besides directing the company to demolish its 62MW thermal power plant within three months.

The penalty amount is required to be paid in four equal installments of Rs 25 crore each; the first to be paid by 31st August, 2012, second by 31st March, 2013, third by 31st March, 2014 and the last installment by 31st March, 2015. This amount shall be used for improving the ecology and environment of the area as per the direction of High court.

As per the division bench, comprising Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol, the entire foundation of the environmental clearance obtained by JP Associates is based on falsehood as the company lied about the cost of the cement plant.

The court added that the company managed to get to get permission for building Thermal Plant without Environmental Impact Assessment clearance, while, even after it was brought to the notice of company that EIA clearance was required it continued to build the Thermal Plant.

Further, to the disgust of the authorities, when the company submitted a new proposal for grant of environmental clearance it successfully managed to con the Himachal government, Pollution Control Board, the MoEF and the EAC into believing that the plant being set up by it was a standalone grinding unit not requiring environmental clearance.

Meanwhile, the company at the moment is studying the both legal as well as factual implication and depending upon the legal advice, will decide its future course of action and accordance with the well established constitutional provisions.