Supreme Court gives govt, Sterlite a month on Niyamgiri

The Supreme Court has given a month’s time to the Centre, the Orissa government and UK-based Vedanta’s Indian arm Sterlite Industries on the challenge made by the state’s mining corporation to the cancellation of environmental clearance to Niyamgiri Bauxite Mining Project in the state.

State-run Orissa Mining Corporation’s petition challenges the Union environment and forest ministry’s decision rejecting environmental clearance to Vedanta’s bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri Hills.

A bench of Justice RV Raveendran and Justice AK Patnaik on Thursday asked the respondents to file their replies within four weeks.

While scrapping the licence to mine in this area, environment minister Jairam Ramesh had hinted at the grave violations committed by the licensees.

The government has also accused Vedanta of having committed several irregularities after the Supreme Court had given a favourable judgment to the project for mining in August 2008.
Earlier, in 2007, MoEF had given in-principle approval to the $1.7 billion bauxite mining project in Orissa.

Opposing the MoEF’s new decision on August 24, 2010, OMC counsel K K Venugopal said the Centre’s order is illegal, arbitrary and in violation of the apex court’s earlier directions that had given its nod to the project.

The OMC had entered into a joint venture agreement with Sterilite Industries India Ltd for mining at Niyamgiri to feed Vedanta Alumina Ltd’s refinery at Lanjigarh.

Vedanta Alumina had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government to set up a 1 million tonne (mt) refinery complex at Lanjigarh with an investment of Rs4,500 crore in 2005. In the MoU, the state government had agreed to supply 150 mt of bauxite for the refinery and had identified the Niyamgiri mine as the initial source for the material’s supply to the extent of 78 mt.

Union minister Srikant Jena is opposed to the state government’s move to allow Vedanta to mine for bauxite at Niyamgiri in Kalahandi district. According to him, while the value of bauxite at Niyamgiri hills is estimated at Rs2.5 lakh crore, the state would get only Rs4,000 crore in 50 years.