The Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government, in a late evening cabinet decision on Wednesday, decided to grant licence to Reliance Industries for setting up a cement plant in the Chopal tehsil of apple-producing upper Shimla district. The cement plant would be based on limestone, shale and quartzite and was given a massive land mass of 2500 hectares, said an official spokesman. The government has also issued show cause notices to four cement producers for delaying commissioning of five plants. They are Jai Prakash Associates Limited, French cement giant Lafarge India Private Limited, Grasim Cements Limited, Harish Cement Limited and India Cement Limited, he said. He said that Jai Prakash Associates’ two proposed plants are in Solan and Chamba districts, while Lafarge’s and Harish’s plants are in Mandi district, and the India Cement plant is in Shimla district. The two mega cement plants of ACC and Ambuja are already running in Bilaspur and Solan of the hill State. Environmentalists and local residents in Himachal have been opposing from a long time the setting up of any cement plants in the State. Political parties Congress and BJP only oppose the setting up whenever in Opposition, though individual leaders like Sukh Ram and Major V.S. Mankotia have consistently opposed the advent of such air polluting industries in a clean and green hill State. Due to paucity of agricultural land and scarce water sources, the villagers have always opposed this move and would do the same in future, said Guman Singh of Himalayan Niti Abhiyan, an environmental NGO.