Odisha Chief Minister promises Vedanta chief to provide bauxite

Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal on Thursday said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has promised to take steps on priority basis for supply of bauxite to the Vedanta Aluminum Limited’s (VAL) refinery at Lanjigarah in Kalahandi. However, he made it clear that the company would be compelled to shut down the plant for non-availability of raw materials. “Unfortunately, we will have to shut down the refinery if we will not get raw materials,” Agarwal told newsmen after meeting the Chief Minister in the evening. “We are not getting bauxite from Lanjigarh as promised by the State Government. After facing shortage of raw material, the company had closed down the plant temporarily and again restarted it by sourcing raw material from outside. However, we will be compelled to shut it down once again if the pipeline supply is not ensured,” he pointed out. He also expressed his apprehension that the VAL smelter plant at Jharsuguda might be affected for want of alumina in the event of closure of the Lanjigarah refinery. In order to ensure the survival of the Jharsuguda unit, VAL has already requested Nalco to provide the alumina at the rate it is selling to others, he said. Agarwal also stated that the works for the proposed Vedanta University at Puri would start after the injunction by the court is lifted. As many as five lakh people would stay there, including one lakh students from all parts of the world, he informed. Agrawal also hinted that if the project was not feasible in Odisha, there were other States like Karnataka and Rajasthan where the university might be set up as the two States have evinced interest in it.