``The phase-II of the plant is not currently in commercial operation and only being tested as an integral part of the construction of the project,'' DPC said in a release here on Saturday.

This development (MPCB's notice) comes a day after DPC invoked the Government of India's (GoI) counter-guarantee following the Maharashtra State Electricity Board's (MSEB) failure to clear the outstanding December bill of Rs 102 crore.

MPCB has confirmed that the notice sent on March 9 was only intended to apply to generation of electricity from phase II and not in any way to restrict the operation of phase I, for which the US company had a valid consent to operate, DPC said. DPC affirms its commitment to compliance with environmental and other relevant permits, the release said adding, the company was optimistic that this misunderstanding would be resolved at the earliest.