Vedanta looks beyond Niyamgiri for bauxite supplies

After 12 village councils completely rejected bauxite mining in the Niyamgiri hills, Vedanta is now looking beyond the area to source raw material for its Rs. 5,000 crore Lanjigarh alumina refinery in Odisha and is hopeful of securing an alternate mine soon.

"Niyamgiri was a very small deposit and they (the Odisha government) have promised us that they will give this and work on other deposits. They are working on other deposits and I am looking forward if they can take faster decision," Vedanta Group chairman Anil Agarwal told PTI.

When asked to comment on the complete rejection by the village councils for mining at the Niyamgiri hills, Mr Agarwal said,

"This (Niyamgiri) is a small mine. Between government and the village councils whatever has happened, I don't want to comment... As far as we are concerned, we need bauxite.

"If we get bauxite faster, we will be able to run the plant. Huge number of people are waiting and it is the right thing in India for revenue and for the employment."

The Lanjigarh alumina refinery and mining in the Niyamgiri hills have been surrounded by controversies since beginning and Vedanta and its partner Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) have been battling out in different courts to keep the two projects alive in last few years.

"We created huge investment of Rs. 50,000 crore in the aluminium sector. Now I am running it (the refinery) at one-third capacity. I leave it to you to see what we have created.

"I need bauxite, which the (Odisha) government has promised. In India, we have third largest bauxite reserves of the world and we have to use it for the human use."

During July-August this year, 12 village councils, selected by the Odisha government for the referendum on mining in Niyamgiri hills, had rejected the proposal. The tribal villages, located on the hill slopes, are part of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.

They were selected after a Supreme Court order of 18th April, in which it had directed the Odisha government to conduct meetings of village councils for deciding whether mining will impact the religious, community and cultural rights of the villagers.

Due to the rejection, the alumina refinery is staring at an uncertain future currently as it does not have any permanent source for securing bauxite. It is currently operating at about 50-60 per cent capacity.