Demonstaration for Vedanta Alumina project

Business Standard, July 15, 2007

BS Reporter / Bhubaneswar July 15, 2007

The row over Vedanta Alumina project at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district took a new turn with the supporters of the project staging a demonstration in front of the state assembly demanding government intervention for its smooth implementation.

This follows a rally in Bhubaneswar by the opponents of the project under the banner of Green Kalahandi three days back. The rally was organized to highlight the adverse impact of the project on the local environment and was led by Congress leader and former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das.

The pro-project demonstrators led by three ruling combine MLAs from Kalahandi, Balabhadra Majhi, Beer Sipka and Puspendra Singhdeo later met chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, leader of opposition J B Patnaik, Speaker Maheswar Mohanty and gave memorandum in support of the project. They also submitted a memorandum to the governor through his secretary.

In the memorandum, the project supporters suggested the state government extend all help to the refinery project which is ready for commercial production. The development of a backward district like Kalahandi can be expedited through this alumina refinery, they
argued.

The memorandum further pointed out that the company has started taking initiatives for social and educational development of the area. The forest and environment will not deteriorate as is being propagated by Green Kalahandi, it asserted.

In this backdrop the project supporters drew the attention of the government to hand over the bauxite mining lease at Niyamgiri to the company and allow it to use water of Tel river. They criticized the attempt of Bhakta Charan Das to derail the industrialization process of the district.

Earlier, addressing the media, Balabhadra Majhi the BJD MLA from Nalra in Kalahandi said, Vedana has provided direct and indirect employment to about 400 people. While 150 persons have been provided direct employment, 250 persons were indirectly employed.

The project, when completed, will provide direct employment to about 1,100 people besides creating self employment opportunities for many more, he added.

He said, it is strange that Das is opposing the project now, while he himself had written to the then Prime minister to set up this plant in Kalahandi. The movement in support of the project, he warned, will be
intensified in coming days with a convention of 50,000 people and a prayer to the Supreme Court of India.

He demanded that the state government should provide all the facilities required by Vedanta at Langigarh.