Congress against closure of KIOCL

The beleagured Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL), set to close down by this year end, has received a shot in the arm with the Congress coming out in its support.

KIOCL has become the target of pseudo environmental groups and efforts should be made to avoid its closure, Congress general secretary Margaret Alva said, while addressing the 28th plenary session of Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).

Taking a strong view, she said: "if environment is the issue, then no industry can function in the country."

The supreme court had ordered KIOCL's closure on a petition filed by a Bangalore-based NGO, which contended that the company's mining operations in Karnataka posed a threat to the environment.

She accused foreign-funded NGOs of acting at the behest of multinational companies to facilitate their entry into India by filing public interest litigation (PILs) in the name of environment and entangling domestic projects in legal cases for a long time.

Alva also called for stopping export of raw materials for the steel industry from the country and questioned as to "why should India export iron ore to China benefiting the neighbouring country?"