In a victory of sorts for the farmers of Mahuva, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on Saturday, stopped all work on the Nirma cement plant.

The ministry has also issued a show-cause notice asking why the environment clearance given to the project under the Environment Protection Act should not be revoked, and work on the plant stopped permanently.

The ministry has allowed a personal hearing for Nirma on March 16 or 17 before making the stoppage of work permanent.

The cement plant is under construction at Samadhiyala Bandhara near Padhiyarka village in Mahuva Taluka of Bhavnagar district in  Gujarat.

Nirma was given environment clearance for the project in December 2008. Following this, farmers from the village, led by BJP MLA from Mahuva Dr Kanubhai Kalsariya, launched an agitation against the plant.