Tamil Nadu vows to block Hindustan Zinc tungsten mining in green zone

Assembly resolution urges Centre to not grant any mining licence without the permission of state governments

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Monday adopted a unanimous resolution, asking the Union government to cancel the rights awarded to Vedanta group company Hindustan Zinc Ltd for tungsten mining in about 5,000 acres of land at Melur in Madurai district, as it falls near the first Biodiversity Heritage Site in the state.

 

"I will not allow the tungsten mining project in Madurai as long as I continue to be the chief minister," Chief Minister M K Stalin told the Assembly.

 

The Union Ministry of Mines had given permission to Hindustan Zinc on November 9 for mining in Melur, near Arittapatti, which was notified as Tamil Nadu's first Biodiversity Heritage Site in 2022. The resolution also urged the Centre to not grant any mining licence without the permission of state governments. Earlier, Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this matter.

 

 

Interestingly, the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership was also against the project. BJP State President K Annamalai said on Monday that he had written to Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy, highlighting local protests and urging him to drop the proposal. He later said in a social media post that Reddy has assured him that the proposal would be reconsidered.

 

This development follows protests the Vedanta group faced over its Sterlite Copper unit, where the Supreme Court, on February 29, declined permission to reopen the copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi, citing “serious environmental violations and repeated breaches”.

 

The Sterlite Copper unit was closed in May 2018 following an order issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). This came after police fired on protesters, killing 13 people and injuring 102 others. The protests were against Sterlite's plans to double its annual capacity to 800,000 tonnes, which, according to the protesters, would have increased the toxic impact on the environment and public health.

 

"It is condemnable that despite the concerns raised by the government of Tamil Nadu on October 3, 2023, to the Union government, urging it to not auction the mining rights for such critical and strategic minerals without the state government's permission, the Centre disregarded this objection and proceeded with the auction," said Durai Murugan, minister of water resources, who tabled the resolution before the House on Monday.

 

All political parties, including the AIADMK, PMK, and the BJP, supported the resolution.