Environmental squabble forces Vedanta to look for new mines

One million tonne Orissa Alumina Refinery

The row over environmental clearance for the bauxite deposits at the Niyamgiri Hills in Kalahandi district of Orissa has forced Vedanta Alumina, which proposed to set up a pit head one million tonne alumina refinery in the area, to look for alternative source to meet raw material requirement.

"The bauxite deposit at the Niyamgiri Hills is beneficial to our project as it is located close to the site of the refinery. But if on the grounds of forest and environment clearance or any other reason, we are not allowed to source raw material from there, we are still committed to go ahead with the project", Debasish Ray, head of Vedanta Alumina's Orissa project told Business Standard.

In such a scenario, he said, the company may try to source raw material from other mines, which could be little farther from the refinery site.

"This will definitely be a set back for the company in terms of logistic problems, but not an unviable proposition altogether", he added.

The company, meanwhile, has clarified its position on sourcing of raw material to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court in the form of an affidavit.

The CEC is currently hearing a case relating to allegations of violation of forest and environment norms by the company and the state authorities for setting up of the project.

"The concept of mining activity (at the Niyamgiri Hills) being an integral to the alumina refinery project is inaccurate", the affidavit submitted by the company said. The affidavit, however, is silent on alternative source of raw material for the project.

The company had originally proposed to use 75 million tonne bauxite deposit at the Niyamgiri Hills to meet its raw material requirement and in October last year entered into an agreement with the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), in whose name the mining lease stands, for mining of ore through a joint venture

The Rs 4000 crore alumina project had subsequently run into rough weather with the environmentalists raising objections to the project from conservation point of view.

They argued that vast tracts of land comprising the project site came under forest category and the company had felled trees there contravening the forest guidelines.

Again, the Niyamagiri hills being a thick forest area housing many exquisite flora and fauna, any mining activity there will pose danger to the ecology.

Following these allegations, the CEC had sent a two-member fact finding team to the project site to ascertain the facts.

The team, in its report, had pointed out presence of 58.9 hectares of village forest land within the project site and felling of trees there in violation of the forest and environment norms.

The team had also questioned the logic of going ahead with the construction of the project without obtaining forest clearance for the mining activity at Niyamgiri Hills.

On the basis of this report the CEC had asked for clarifications from the Ministry of Forest and Environment, government of India, the Orissa government and the company authorities on these issues.

In response, the company has submitted an affidavit before the CEC that it has already written to the state government saying it can go ahead with the project without involving the 58.9 hectare of forest land in question.

"Therefore the proposal for diversion of forest land (for industry purposes) pending before the Union forest and environment ministry may be withdrawn".

Similarly denying that mining of bauxite at the Niyamgiri Hills is integral to the alumina project, the affidavit said, "This respondent seeks to make it clear that without such mining activity the alumina refinery will still be functional and the respondent will in such an event obtain bauxite from other sources"

The company, however, pointed out that the bauxite lease being in the name of Orissa Mining Corporation, should the Union forest and environment ministry give approval to the mining project there, the company, in pursuant to its agreement with OMC will seek to coordinate the mining activity with its refinery activity.

Green glitch

---

• The plan The company had originally proposed to use the 75 million tonne bauxite deposit at the Niyamgiri Hills to meet its raw material requirement and in October last year had entered into an agreement with the Orissa Mining Corporation for mining of ore through a joint venture
• The roadblock The Rs 4000 cr alumina project has run into rough weather with the environmentalists arguing that vast tracts of land comprising the project site comes under forest category and the company had felled trees there contravening the forest guidelines