Bhubaneswar, May 2 -- A penalty of Rs 233.11 crore has been imposed on Vedanta Limited on Saturday, for alleged illegal extraction of water in Odisha's Jharsuguda district. The Superintending Engineer of the Burla Irrigation Division has issued a notice directing the company to deposit the fine.

The action follows allegations of unauthorised water lifting from the Kherual canal, a branch of the Bheden canal. The penalty amounting to Rs 233, 11, 24,926 has been levied on Vedanta Aluminium located in Bhurkamunda.

The issue was first raised during a district-level review meeting, where complaints regarding illegal water extraction surfaced. Subsequently, a team from the Burla Irrigation Division conducted a field inspection and confirmed t...