A group of northern Illawarra residents has launched legal action against mining giant Gujarat NRE, claiming the company acted "unlawfully" when it began longwall mining in a section of its Russell Vale colliery earlier this year.
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Illawarra Residents for Responsible Mining Inc (IRRM) spokeswoman Kaye Osborn yesterday confirmed a summons had been served to Gujarat NRE late last week, which requires the company to appear before the Land and Environment Court on July 20.
Ms Osborn said the court would test the legality of Gujarat NRE's controversial start to mining in its No 4 longwall which, IRRM claims, was done "without development approval".
Ms Osborn said the group, which numbers around 70 people, had the backing of the Environmental Defender's Office, which had agreed to run the case against the Gujarat longwall on behalf of residents.
"We believe that the commencement of longwall mining by Gujarat NRE in the absence of an appropriate development consent is unlawful and irresponsible," Ms Osborn said.
"The application to commence longwall mining was not put on public exhibition, and there was no opportunity for public comment."
Ms Osborn also slammed the actions of the government departments responsible for allowing the development to proceed.
"The Department of Trade and Investment and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure have failed in their responsibility to ensure that mining approvals follow clear and transparent processes and consider the impact on residential neighbourhoods," she said.
The court challenge has come on the back of a tough six months for Gujarat NRE, which has been plagued by a downturn in profit and operational delays while trying to secure the green light to extend its mine at Russell Vale.
In February, the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure said the company could not proceed with its mining plans, because its application, lodged last year, had been deemed inadequate.
But by late March, Gujarat NRE secured permission from the Department of Primary Industries to start some mining work after lodging a Subsidence Management Plan for the area.
Once the proper applications were lodged, it was expected to take several months before the planning process was completed.
Gujarat NRE's executive chairman Arun Jagatramka when contacted yesterday was unavailable for comment.
