Cuttack, June 30: Orissa High Court has extended the status quo order on granting mining lease for Khandadhar iron ore reserves in the state by over a month.

Posco’s proposed steel plant is largely dependent on the lease to Khandadhar iron ore reserves. The division bench of Justice B.P. Das and Justice B.P. Ray extended the status quo order till the first week of August while adjourning hearing on the case till then, following submission of an amendment petition related to the case yesterday.

Posco had signed an MoU with the Orissa government in June 2005 to build a 12MTPA steel plant by 2016 near Paradip port. The government had recommended for the grant of the prospecting licence for Khandadhar iron ore reserves in favour of Posco.

The high court, however, had on March 20, 2009, directed the Union government not to take any decision on the state government’s proposal after it was challenged through a petition by the public sector Kudremukh Iron Ore Limited.

Kudremukh, one of the 226 applicants for mining lease at Khandadhar in Sundargarh district, had sought judicial intervention against the recommendation in favour of Posco.

Essar Steels had also thrown its hat into the ring challenging the state government’s decision.

Some of the other applicants had also followed up with petitions alleging that the decision was illegal as it was taken without giving equal opportunities to all applicants, especially the applications filed earlier. All of them had been taken up for analogous hearing.