Bauxite mining in Karlapat area to save Lanjigarh refinery faces opposition

Vedanta’s doomed Lanjigarh alumina refinery which has been facing severe bauxite ore shortage has little hope of survival as the efforts to mine bauxite from the proposed Karlapat area in Odisha’s Kalahandi district face opposition from tribal organizations like Lok Sangram Manch (LSM) and Niyamgiri Suraksha Samity (NSS).

Carrying out refining operations in Lanjigarh facility has always been challenging for Vedanta as the refinery has to depend on bauxite ore procured from outside the state. Earlier in 2013, it was once planned that bauxite mined from the Niyamgiri Hills would feed the refinery; but due to protests of the local tribals, the plan was dumped. Following it, the unit has been running at losses for a while. However, with the global prices of primary aluminium declining sharply in the recent times, it became totally unviable for Vedanta to run the refinery. So, it had started to shut down the unit.

To rescue the dying alumina refinery, the Odisha government, in a recent meeting directed PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to start mining in Karlapat area. As per reports, the OMC was to start mining activity in the area from December 2016. However, with the NSS and LSM protesting the move, commencement of mining operations in Karlapat area now seems uncertain.

Both the organisations are of the opinion that proper assessment of environmental as well as socio-economic losses of tribals living in Karlapat area has not been done till now although the State government is promoting mining in the area.